Soul to Soul
by mathisson
Summary: A Tattward and Bella story. Bella is a single mom who has won the lottery and moved away from her home town. She meets the Gang and fun times ensue. Mostly Fluff. ADOPTED first 28 are the original. Starting on chapter 29...all Mathisson!
1. Chapter 1

Alright so I found out this fiction was up for adoption, I just could resist. I love the plot and felt it was a shame it wasn't finished. The original writer, Naezee had hit a major wall. The second I finished reading the first 28 chapters, I just knew how this should end. I am going to post an original first 28 chapter once per day and then the 29th will be all me. I have what I feel to be the perfect ending and even a little surprise. Thank you Naezee for creating such an amazing story line. If you havent read this one yet, you are in for a real treat!

"Delilah, come on girl, we gotta go," I shouted from the front yard. She came ambling out of the horse paddock at a nice,

lazy pace. She met up with the most important person in my life, my three year old daughter. Alexis Grace was one of the best things that had ever happened to me. She, thankfully, had her dad's blonde hair and big green eyes. I loved that little girl more than I ever thought possible.

I watched as Delilah walked over to Gracie and nudged her gently on the shoulder. Looking at the pair, I still found myself amazed at how loving and gentle Delilah was with Gracie. I watched as Gracie giggled while she reached out and grabbed hold of Delilah's red leather collar and led her over to the truck. Delilah towered over Gracie's small frame while Gracie's blonde curls blew up from her pig tails into her face.

Sometimes, I wished that I had chosen a different breed of dog. You know, one that was a little quicker or a lot smaller, but Delilah is something special. She's an American Mastiff and built of solid muscle. She stands 32 inches tall at the shoulder and weighs 135 pounds. Some people don't understand why I love her so much, but when I was looking for a dog I had run across an article about the American Mastiff and I had fallen in love with the breed. After spending a year on waiting list, I hadn't actually picked Delilah out, truth be told. When I got to the breeder's house and went to see the puppies she chose me instead. She came running up to me and out of all the pups, she wouldn't leave my side. She was great for Gracie and myself.

But, asI was saying, sometimes it's a hassle to get her going. Delilah believes in moving at her own pace and nothing

you do or say gets her going any faster, well, unless you happen to be Gracie and you have a cookie for her.

I was already running late. I had several errands to run this morning after dropping Gracie off at preschool, and I felt that there wasn't enough time in the day to accomplish everything I need to do. Normal Tuesday for me though.

"Gracie, where should Delilah and I go first? To see Mr. Newton at the feed store or to pick up her food at the pet store?" I asked her. "I also have to go by to see Dr. Rose for Delilah's checkup today," I reminded myself.

Delilah tilted her head as if to ask me why I thought that she would answer. If I left it up to her, she would go by to see because he is always slipping her treats. Gracie giggled up at me while she said, "to see Mr. Newton, Momma! Delilah loves him!"

As we walked to the truck I went over my list of things to do in my head. First, I have to drop Gracie off at her preschool and then I have to go to the feed store to get my horse feed. Delilah also has an appointment at the vet for her annual checkup. I also have to make a run to the pet store to get Delilah's special dog food. Once all that was finished I have to get back home and do all the chores around the ranch before it's time to go back and pick Gracie up. So, that brings me back to Delilah.

"Delilah! Come on baby, let's go. In the truck with you!" I said while opening the rear drivers side door. She finally decided to hop into the truck. As she sat in the seat I looked at what a beautiful sight she was. Her brindle coloring really showed up next to the red of the truck.

Man, my truck . . . I love my truck. Its a red 2008 F-250 4x4. It's full sized with plenty of room to haul around Gracie, Delilah, and all my gear for the ranch. After getting Delilah loaded up and Gracie settled into her car seat, we headed into town. I decided to go to the feed store first after dropping Gracie off, because it would take the longest to get done. I quickly made my way to KidzTown, Gracie's school. I released her from the car seat and gathered her things that she needed to take with her. We walked up to the door with Gracie bouncing along beside me. She loved coming to school and I was so happy about that. I had worried sometimes that she wouldn't have many friends, but since finding KidzTown she had made several friends. I opened the door for her while she chatted away about the fun day she had ahead of her.

Her favorite thing was to paint and today was painting day.

"Can I paint when I get home?" she begged me with a slight pout to her lips.

"We'll see Gracie, let's get through the day first, OK?" I asked her.

"OK Momma. I love you!" she said while giving me a big hug.

I squeezed her tightly to me before letting her go and watching her run off to play with her friend Mary. A clearing voice brought me out of my thoughts and I looked over to see her teacher, and one of my best friends, Alice.

"Hey Bella! How are you guys this morning?" Alice asked.

"Oh, same old same old. Trying to get Delilah in gear this morning was like pulling teeth!" I told her with a laugh.

"Bella, you know I love you and Gracie like family, but I still don't see what you see in having a horse for a dog!" she jokedwith me.

"Alice! I can't believe you would say something like that!" I said, hand on my chest, while pretending to be offended.

Alice just laughed at my affronted airs. "I'll see you this afternoon Bella. Oh, when are you going to bring Delilah in for a visit again? You know the kids love her to death! I hope you do know I was just teasing you earlier, right? I love Delilah, too!" She rambled on as she bounced in place.

"I'll see if I can get here in time this afternoon, if not maybe in the morning?" I questioned her.

"That'll be fine, either one," she told me with a smile.

I walked over and gave Gracie a hug and kiss again before telling her and her friend goodbye before I left the preschool.

I realized the time and hauled my ass to the truck as quickly as I could. I pulled a cigarette out of my pack and lit up

before pulling out of the center's parking lot and making my way to Newton's Feed.

Newton's Feed is a family owned business that has been around town for the last 35 years. There is an old plank board porch that teems with sacks of feed, lawn mowers and other gardening needs for our small town. Rocking chairs sit on each side of the old double doors. There are always patrons rocking in them while passing time with the latest news about all our neighbors in this sleepy little town called Rico. As Delilah and I entered the store Mr. Newton, the owner, called out from the back as he labored tirelessly piling sacks of feed in a corner.

"Be right with ya!" he yelled.

"It's just me and Delilah, Mr. Newton" I called. Talking to old Mr. Newton was always a treat. He was full of great stories about the old days and how things used to be here in Rico.

"Hey there Bella! What can I get for you today? Where's that little girl of yours? You know I like seeing her!" he inquired.

"Gracie's at school this morning. She enjoys coming in to see you too!" I told him with a smile. "I need 10 sacks of sweet feed for the horses, Mr. Newton," I replied.

"Just pull on 'round back then, and I'll have the boys load it for ya," he told me with a smile.

Just then, I noticed Mr. Newton sneaking Delilah a treat.

"Mr. Newton, what've I told you 'bout that?" I teased him with a smile as I walked up to the counter to pay.

"Well now, Bella, how can a man resist that sweet face of hers?" he asked me smugly, knowing that I was also a sucker for that mug of hers.

I laughed at him and agreed wholeheartedly, shaking my head as I paid my bill. Calling to Delilah, we left the store and got in the truck to pull around back. I got out and stood to the side to watch the boys load the feed while I smoked a cigarette.

One of the guys, Eric Yorkie, walked over to where I was leaning against the back of the store smoking a Marlboro Light 100. "Hey Bella, you hear about that new tattoo parlor that just opened across town?" he asked between drags on his cigarette. I was a little surprised to hear about a tattoo parlor here because our fair town only had 2,132 people in it. Eric continued to give me all the juicy news about this new shop, called Skin Deep, and the owner, whose name was Edward Cullen.

"Ms. Bella, you wouldn't believe what this guy looks like! He has this crazy brownish red long hair and his arms have

tattoos all over them! I just cant believe someone like that would move here. What is this town coming to? You better

watch yourself if you run into him. It's hard to tell what he might do to anybody. I did hear that he moved here from North Carolina. Maybe he was run out of town and had to move here." He rambled on, spewing all his word vomit to anyone who would listen to him. And of course, I was kind of a captive audience since the guys were loading MY feed! "Eric, you can't judge a man by his looks!" I retorted angrily. "You should know better than that!"

Eric just looked at me with a frown in his mud brown eyes and didn't reply. He knew by now not to push my buttons about judging people. I was determined to not judge this unknown man based on looks and gossip alone. I had gotten my fair share of people judging me when I first moved here a few years ago. They couldn't believe that I was a single mom, living alone with my baby girl. She was only six months old when I came here.

Some people think that I'm a little off my rocker anyway because I choose to have neon pink hair. Now, don't get me

wrong. It's not all pink! Just the under side of my hair. Really, it's not all that noticeable unless I pull my long brown hair up into a pony tail or clip, and that's not very often.

What the lovely townspeople don't realize is that I have my own tattoos. I've been drawn to tattoos since I was a teen and I have a rather large phoenix on my back, a butterfly over my left breast and a dragon going up my right thigh. I just never wear anything but jeans and tee shirts around town so they don't see them.

When I first moved to Rico, I was also judged because I was overweight. I didn't fit the image that most of the

townspeople had in their minds of what a young, single, female should look like or live like. I'm a size 14. Not extremely big, but big enough to get talked about and offered weight loss advise from all of the nosy "well meaning" judgmental women town-folks who I suspect wear girdles and other restraining devices to appear smaller than they actually are! I made peace with my body during my teen years and I'm happy with who I am. I think I look OK after giving birth, too. So here I stand, proudly, at 5'4", with long, wavy, brown and pink hair in a pair of faded Levi's, green v-neck tee-shirt that hugs my ample breasts, and my faded, scuffed up, brown work boots on.

I looked Eric straight in the eyes and he just looked away muttering about men with long hair, tattoos and loose morals.

I'd had enough of his close-minded attitude so I scowled at him and said my goodbye's to the rest of the boys. I stomped off and climbed up into the truck with Delilah and left.

Once we arrived at the pet store Delilah was more than happy to hop out of the truck. She knows there are friendly people here. People who weren't afraid of her enormous size. People with treats and belly scratches for her. People who wholeheartedly accept her for who and what she is. We walked in to the welcoming hellos from the employees. I

retrieved a cart from the front and led Delilah over to the food section.

As we turned the corner of the aisle my eyes landed on the most beautiful sight. There, standing in front of us was a

gorgeous fawn American Mastiff. I was very surprised because I hadn't run into a single one since I had gotten Delilah 2years ago. I looked him over and noticed that he was at least 3 inches higher than Delilah at the shoulder, making himclose to 35 inches tall and his fur was so fawn as to almost appear silver.

The next thing my eyes took in was the absolutely gorgeous man who was holding his leash. He was at least a foot taller then me, making him taller than any of the other men around this town. His rugged good looks and brilliant smile gave new meaning to the term, Greek God! My breath caught in my chest as I slowly looked up into his warm green eyes. He had a firm jawline with a hint of a five o'clock shadow that was sexy as hell and his hair, OH. MY. GOSH! I have this thing for guys with well kept long hair and his was stunning. It was this amazing bronze color and it was flowing loose down his back and tucked behind his ears.

I just knew this had to be none other than Edward Cullen based on the description that Eric had just given me at the feedstore. I cleared my throat nervously, because he was slowly looking over Delilah and I with the same intensity that I waslooking over him and his dog.

"Hi, I'm Edward Cullen. I've just moved into town," he said. "I can't help but notice what a beautiful dog you have wouldn't happen to be an American Mastiff, would she?"

"Thanks!" I stammered "My name is Bella. Bella Swan and yes she is," I replied.

Edward flashed his gorgeous smile and shyly introduced his dog. "This is Samson." He had no sooner spoken

Samson's name when I started laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. He looked at me as if I was mentally challenged and totally deranged. I quickly let him know why I found Samson's name so funny.

"Mr. Cullen, I'm sorry! Really! I didn't mean to laugh like that. It's just. . . let me introduce you to my dog. I would like you to meet Delilah!"

At this point he started laughing along with me as he held out his hand in a friendly gesture. As I extended my hand to

shake his, I couldn't help but notice all of the ink he had on his arms. As I looked a bit closer I could see a small tattoo of a Celtic cross on his well developed, muscular arms that connected to his very wide shoulders that were attached to his well defined chest. I reached out and took his hand and felt like I had been shocked, like the shock you get from static electricity or something. I quickly pulled my hand back looking at it and then looked up into his eyes and noticed that the amazing green ranged from a brilliant emerald green to a darker jade color. He was looking at me also and had a

befuddled look on his face, like he was contemplating something.

"Did you feel that?" he questioned softly.

"You mean the shocky buzzing thing? Nope, didn't feel a thing," I said laughing softly. I took a deep breath and looked upinto his eyes. "Yeah, I felt it," I replied, my voice getting shaky.

We stood there, in the middle of the dog food section, our dogs taking up all the space in the aisle while we stared at

each other from the corner of our eyes, trying to process what had just happened.

Finally he looked me in the eyes once more and said, "Please, Ms. Swan, call me Edward."

I smiled at him in reply. "I'll call you Edward as long as you drop the Ms. Swan bit and call me Bella. I would also love to meet Samson if I may," I told him as I stole one more look at him.

He smiled in agreement and called Samson over to us. I knelt down in front of him and held my hand out for him to smell before trying to pet him. Samson is such a gentleman. He gently licked my hand and nudged it to get me to pet him. I laughed as I reach up to scratch behind his big floppy ears. He leaned into me so hard that I suddenly found myself flat on my ass in the floor. I could feel myself turning pink in embarrassment. I shyly looked up at Edward through my eyelashes to see his reaction.

"Here Bella, let me help you up," he said as he reached down for my hand and pulled me effortlessly back up to my feet. I looked up into his eyes while feeling that shock once again as it went up my arm and moved on to the rest of my body. It felt as though there was an electrical buzz running through me, almost like my skin was humming. Standing this close, I could feel the heat radiating off of his big body. There were only a few inches separating us now

and I could clearly see the dark stubble on his face.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "Samson is well . . . Samson. He really means no harm."

I was about to tell him that it was no problem, when I felt a sudden push on my legs from behind me and I fell against his chest. He quickly grabbed my waist so that I wouldn't fall, and my hands automatically grabbed hold of his arms. I looked back and saw Delilah leaning on me trying to get closer to Samson.

I laughed quietly and said, "Looks like Delilah would like to meet Samson, too."

We moved over to the side so that our canine friends could meet. It was like Samson and Delilah had known each other forever. They were nuzzling one another and their tails were wagging. I called Delilah over so that Edward can meet her.

He gave her a good scratching before she went back over to Samson.

"You'll have to bring her by my shop sometime so that they can visit again," he kindly offered.

"Oh, I wouldn't want us to be a bother. I'm sure that you have lots to do," I replied quietly.

He looked me straight in the eyes and repeated his offer. It was at this point that I realized that this man could make me or break me. Just by giving me that look, I felt a longing to be closer to him. To get to know him better. To find out what made him tick and what the reasons were behind all of his tattoos. I finally agreed to come by soon and he gave me directions to his shop. He told me it was called Skin Deep and that it was the new tattoo place in town. I didn't tell him that I had heard the gossip about his shop already. I kept getting lost in his green eyes and mesmerized by the way his bronze hair would move in the slight breeze that would come down the aisle. My fingers itched to reach out and touch it and see if it felt as soft as it looked. Up close I could see the natural highlights that were running through it. Because he's so big and tall, he made me feel smallbeside him.

"Here's my card. Please, feel free to come by and check out the shop, and bring Delilah with you. I always bring Samson to work with me and sometimes he gets lonely for company," he told me.

"I'll keep that in mind the next time we have to make a run into town," I told him.

As I stood there for a moment, wondering what to say to him, I glanced down at my watch and realized that if I didn't leave in the next ten minutes I would be late getting Delilah to the vet I turned to Edward and said "Well, Edward, it's been really great meeting you and Samson, but I have to run before I'm

late for Delilah's appointment at the vet. I just need to grab a couple bags of Delilah's food first."

I turned to grab two of the fifty pound bags of dog food, but Edward stepped up quickly saying, "Let me get that for you."

He gave me a crooked smile and noted that it was the same kind of dog food Samson eats and that's why he was here at the store today, too. It had really surprised him that the small store actually had it in stock. I explained to him that I had them keep it stocked for Delilah. As he was loading the dog food for me, the fog in my head finally cleared enough for me

to get some kind of handle on my mental faculties. I really should thank him or something.

"Thank you for your help with the food," I replied breathlessly as I watched his muscles rippling fluidly beneath his snug white tee shirt.

"It's the least I can do for a fellow AM lover," he replied with a crooked smile.

We said our goodbye's and I promised to bring Delilah by his shop sometime to visit. We then had to pry Samson and

Delilah apart as they were reluctant to separate. As I made my way to the checkout, I couldn't help but to think about the man that I had just met. He was the best looking man that I had ever laid my eyes on. He was also very friendly and just seemed like a nice guy. To look at him, and go by appearance only, you would think the opposite, with his tattooed arms, long hair, and firm jaw he had all the looks of a bad-ass!

As Delilah and I were walking up to the counter to pay I looked back over my shoulder. He was following us with his

warm, green gaze. I wasn't sure how to take that. I waved to him as I made my way out of the store and he sent me a

wave in return.

AN

And as with all of my other ramblings, you can find pictures on my facebook page, The twisted mind of Mathisson


	2. Chapter 2

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**Thank you to everyone who is reading and having as much fun with this as I am. Dont forget to see my facebook page " the twisted mind of Mathisson"**

**Chapter 2**

Delilah and I made our way out to the truck. I loaded her and then put the dog food in the back with the rest of the feed. After I finished and climbed up in the cab of the truck I looked over at her to see her staring back towards the store. I followed the path of her gaze and noticed Edward and Samson leaving the store and getting into a big black SUV. I gave a huge sigh and looked back at Delilah. I grabbed a cigarette and lit up as I watched them pull away. I exhaled and cranked up the truck.

"Well girl, looks like we got it bad, huh?" I moaned lustfully and pulled out of the parking lot. I wasn't looking for a man. I was happy with it being just Gracie, Delilah, and me. Sure, sometimes I would think about maybe finding someone, but no one's ever really met all of the requirements that I have. I mean, I was a single mom and a lot of the men around here just didn't want to get involved because of that. Most guys couldn't get past the fact that I live with a 135 pound dog. For some reason, when the few guys I had attempted to get to know in the past would come over and see her, they would be horribly intimidated by her. I figured that if that's the case, then they weren't someone that I really needed to get to know that well and weren't worth my time. Then, there was the occasional guy that I would meet in town while out with Delilah and she would have a bad reaction to them. She would put herself in front of me, give a low rumbling growl and wouldn't let them near me. I've learned to trust her judgment about peoples' character. The first time I didn't trust her, thinking that she was being silly, and I soon regretted it. The guy ended up grabbing my arm and trying to force a kiss on me while groping my breast. Needless to say, he never came around me again after a swift kick to the man-sack. But, I digress.

"Well, Delilah, are you ready to go see Dr. Rose?" I asked.

She tilted her head and thumped her tail hard on the seat. I'm so happy that she loves Dr. Rose and the staff at the Vet clinic. I can't imagine trying to drag a resisting Delilah into the vet. I mean, we weigh almost the same and she is so much stronger than I am. I laughed out loud at the mental image that thought gave me. She looked over at me with a question in her eyes. I reached out and lovingly scratched behind her ear.

The drive to the Vet from the pet store only took five minutes and soon we were there. I flicked the last of my smoke out the window as I pulled in the parking lot. When I turned off the truck Delilah started banging her tail into the seat harder, getting very excited. All I had to do was open the truck door and she bounded out and up to the door of the office. I snapped her leash back on and led her inside. Miss Tanya, the receptionist, saw us and called out a happy hello. I signed us in and took Delilah over to wait in one of the hard little chairs that were provided.

It wasn't long before Ben, the Vet Tech, came over and called us into the back. He was very happy to see Delilah. He led us over to the scales and asked her to get on them.

"Come on Delilah, hop on here Sweets!" he said.

Once he got her settled on the scales they finally slowed at 136 pounds. After that we were led into an exam room and waited for Dr. Rose. Delilah took this as a sign to get comfy on the floor and stretched out full length on her side. Let's just say that there was no walking space left. Ten minutes later Dr. Rose came in with a smile to begin the checkup. To look at Dr. Rose you would never see her as anything other than a model or some such thing. She is absolutely gorgeous with long blond hair and violet eyes. When I had first met her, I was a little intimidated by her but she quickly put me at ease. We have become great friends and she loves watching Gracie and Delilah for me if I ever need her to. After a thorough exam she was declared to be in top shape and given a clean bill of health for another year. We said our goodbyes to everyone and headed back home.

Once we got home I backed the truck up to the barn so that I could start unloading all the feed. Delilah wondered over to the shade and lay down to supervise. After a while of heavy lifting, I finally got the feed unloaded and put away. I pulled my hair up into a pony tail and wiped the sweat from my forehead with the end of my tee shirt. I pulled out my pack of Marlboro Light 100's and decided to have a smoke while I was cooling down. I had gotten too hot lifting the heavy bags of feed and knew that if I didn't take a break I would end up getting sick to my stomach. I felt the sweat running down my back and couldn't wait to get in the shower later.

While I fed the horses and mucked the stalls I couldn't keep my thoughts from wondering back to Edward. I was just drawn to the man. I thought again about his muscles moving beneath his shirt and the way his arms felt under my hands when I had fallen against him. I thought about the way his voice seemed to glide over my skin when he spoke, like smooth velvet. I wondered how his hair would feel running through my fingers. Ugh! I gotta stop this I told myself sternly. I have work to do.

I finally finished the last stall and stuck the pitchfork into the fresh hay. I stood up and closed my eyes, just breathing in the scents from the horse barn. It was so peaceful here. I was zoning out for a moment when I heard my name being called. I quickly looked around to see who it was. I could have sworn that it was Edward, but knew that he didn't know where I lived so he couldn't possibly be here. I shrugged my shoulders to myself. "Isabella Marie Swan, get it together!" I snapped to myself. I think all of that heavy lifting must have rattled my brains! After putting all of my tools away I made my way out of the barn and up to the house.

As I took the path from the barn to the house I looked up at my house and thought about how I had ended up here. It was really a large log cabin I had built when I moved out here to the ranch a few years ago. It has a sprawling open floor plan that has lots of windows to let in the natural light. I figured that three large bedrooms would be plenty for me and Gracie. I once again thanked God for my luck. I had won the lottery when I was 20 years old and I took home seventy-five million dollars. After the first rush to spend wore off, I was quick to settle down and find a nice large piece of land to build on. I loved being out in the country here. I didn't tell anyone in town that I had won the lottery. It just made things that much harder when getting to know new people. You never know if they like you for you or just for your money. Everyone here just thought I supported my self from a small inheritance from a distant relative. I wouldn't have it any other way. I had learned my lesson the hard way.

I let myself and Delilah in the back door and took off my boots with a sigh. It felt so good to get them off of my hot feet. Delilah made her way over to the kitchen to eat as I went into my bedroom. I headed straight to the shower. I quickly yanked off my clothes and stood looking myself over in the mirror while I was waiting for the water to get hot. I looked over all of the imperfections of my body as I turned to the side so that I could see my phoenix. It looked as if the phoenix was going to fly up over my right shoulder with his wings spread wide and flames licking at his body. I remembered the hours in the chair of the tattoo shop with fondness.

I am addicted to tattoos. I freely admit it. The buzz of the gun, the smell of the shop, all of it. That could be why I am already wanting a new one. "Ha!" I snorted. You don't even know what you want Bella!" I couldn't help laughing a little as I realized that I was having a conversation with myself. Then I turned a little so that I could get the best view of the dragon. I couldn't help but run my fingers over it. The colors are so vibrant and I just love them. Last but not least, I traced the butterfly on my chest thinking about what it meant to me: Renewal. Rebirth. Changing your stripes and starting over, so to speak. I had definitely had a renewal when I had left home and moved halfway across the country, just Gracie and me. Leaving my home back in south Texas had been hard, but it was something that I had to do for myself.

With a sigh, I reached in to test the water and found it was the perfect temperature. After climbing in the shower I stood there for a few minutes, letting the hot water beat on my shoulders and back releasing the tension there before I got my hair wet. As I lathered up my hair, I breathed deeply to smell the wonderful strawberry scent of my shampoo. It was heavenly. I rinsed it out and put in the conditioner. I left that in while I scrubbed my body clean and then shaved. After rinsing out the conditioner, I found myself once again standing with the water pouring over my head and body, relishing the heat.

I was just floating through random thoughts about my day when I heard someone call for Samson. I jumped and jerked my head around. I rushed to turn the water off while I strained to hear if someone was outside. I grabbed a towel, quickly drying off. I put on some old jeans with a red short sleeved pullover and made my way to the front door to look out. There was no one there of course. I felt as though I was loosing it a little. I decided that I was thinking to much about Edward and was just hearing his voice in my head.

I shook my head as I put my socks and shoes back on. It was time to go pick Gracie up from school, and I still had to fix supper when I got home. Calling Delilah to me, we went out to the truck and got inside. I made the short drive to KidzTown and took Delilah inside with me. We were greeted by the highly excited squeals from all the kids. The good thing was that they were used to Delilah coming in to visit and knew to make a line without having to be told more than once. I stood back and watched Gracie take Delilah by the collar and walk her down the line and let the kids pet and love on her. I slid my camera out of my back pocket where I had stashed it before leaving the house. I carefully aimed and took a few candid shots of the kids with Delilah. Alice loved getting the pictures and would post them on the bulletin board for the parents to look at.

Gracie finally finished her rounds with the kids and went over to her cubby to get her backpack. She ran up excitedly while clutching a painting in her hands.

"Look, Momma! I painted a picture of you and Delilah!" she chirped out while waving the picture at me.

"Sweetie, it's beautiful!" I told her before grabbing her up in a hug.

Gracie happily latched onto my fingers as we told everyone goodbye. We chatted about her day as we went home. I looked in the rear view mirror at her and thanked God for blessing me with her. She was such a great kid, with rare meltdowns. She could be a little stubborn but would listen to reason if it came down to it. I, of course, thought she was brilliant! Of course I wasn't biased at all!

When we got home, Gracie followed me into the kitchen to talk for bit while I fixed supper. I let her help with a few easy things that she could handle and we made a quick supper of baked chicken in Italian dressing with some corn and green beans. Delilah wondered in and lay on the rug in front of the sink, with Gracie sitting beside her using her for a prop, while I moved around the kitchen preparing the food.

After Gracie and I finished eating and doing the dishes, I went out to the back porch to enjoy a smoke. Gracie and Delilah went into the yard to play a bit before bedtime. I lit up and felt the craving ease as I savored the first lungful of heat. I loved sitting in the porch swing in the evenings, smoking a cigarette, or three, while all sunk back into the fluffy cushions as I enjoyed the view.

The majestic view of the mountains in the distance is one of the most beautiful things I have seen in my life. I often get lost looking at the white tips of the mountains that seem to be melting down to the hazy purple color of the rock itself that turns into the foggy green of the foothills.

I often load up either Luna or River, one of my horses, into the horse trailer and go out to ride the trails in the foothills. It's a short, slow ride as Delilah rambles along beside us, but it is so relaxing. The fresh air, the warm smell of the horse and the glimpses of wildlife in the distance are enough to ease any stress that I might be feeling.

I roused myself from my reverie and realized that I had sat there and smoked several cigarettes while lost in the view before me. I gathered up my smokes while I called for Gracie to get off of her swing and Delilah to come back from where ever she had wandered off to.

"Delilah, where have you been girl? Did you go visit with Luna?" I asked her. She replied with a low bark as we made our way back inside for the night.

I went around turning off lights and locking up everything before making my way to the bedroom. I stopped to peer into Gracie's room and noticed that she had thrown off her covers again. I tiptoed over and placed them gently back over her. Standing there, I felt the love for this small person overwhelm me once again. She was so peaceful, laying there on her side with her stuffed wolf toy clutched to her chest. After saying a short prayer of thanks for being blessed to be her mother, I left the room and made my way to my own room. I looked longingly at my king sized bed before heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth and use the facilities.

After I finished up in there I grabbed my new silver MacBook from the nightstand and settled against the big fluffy pillows on the bed. I checked my email and caught up on a couple of fan-fiction stories that I'm following. I love reading and have discovered the wonderful world of fan-fiction. There are some truly talented people who write on there and it is very interesting to see the different prospectives on the characters from some of my favorite novels. As I closed the window on the screen, I once again started thinking about Edward.

"Hey Delilah, do you think that Edward has a website up yet?" When I looked over at her she gave a thump of her tail as if to say, "Sure he does, why don't you check." I gave into the urge to look up his shop. It didn't take long to find it using Google. As it came up I was enthralled with all of the photos of his work.

"Wow, Delilah, look at this. He's an amazing artist!" Just looking at the different tats made my skin itch for a new one. I smiled widely to myself just thinking about having Edward's hands somewhere on my body while I was getting inked. I wonder if that strange electric buzz feeling will still be there the next time we happen to touch. I was nervous but excited to find out. Then I wondered how he would react to Gracie. I hoped that he would be OK with her coming to the shop with me.

Shaking myself out of that little fantasy, I bookmarked the website. I noticed that he had an e-mail address listed with his contact information. I debated with myself about sending him an e-mail. Finally I looked at Delilah and asked her, "Hey Delilah, should I e-mail him or not? Do you want to go see Samson?" I swear sometimes that Delilah is the smartest dog on the planet! She actually jumped up and gave a playful bark. That would be a yes, I believe. I brought up the e-mail window and tried to think of something to say.

Subject: Visit

Hi Edward,

I was wondering what day would be good for Delilah and I to visit you and Samson in the shop. Drop me a quick note to let me know when its convenient for us to come by. Hope you have a great night.

Bella

After re-reading it a couple of times and deciding that it was as good as it would get, I clicked the send button before losing my nerve. Of course as soon as I clicked that button a case of the nerves hit me and I had to go have another smoke to calm down before calling it quits for the night.

When I got to the front porch, I sat in my favorite spot on the swing and lit up. After taking a lungful of calming comfort, I exhaled slowly while looking up at the sky. I couldn't seem to stop my knee from bouncing nervously as I watched the cloud of smoke move hazily through the late June night air.

"UGH! This is crazy!" I huffed ! "Why am I getting worked up over this? I mean he did ask me to come by, right? Right!" I argued with myself. "Great, now I am talking to myself again."

Isn't that supposed to be one of the signs of being mentally unstable I thought. Not just talking to yourself but answering back? Great, now I'm going crazy, I couldn't help thinking.

I sat there and just kept the image of Edward in my mind. How his hair fell half way down his back. How hard the muscles in his arms felt when I grabbed hold of him. How snug fitting his jeans were. How he was just so big standing there next to me. How his eyes seem to have depths that have as yet been undiscovered. I mean, his whole body was like my own personal wonderland that I hoped to be able to explore at my leisure.

Trying to get control of my thoughts, I took one last draw from my smoke and put it out in the small bucket of sand that I used as an ashtray that sat on the banister. I contemplated the stars for another minute before going back inside to bed.

When I got the door locked, I turned to find Delilah standing there. Her head easily reaches above my waist and it makes it so convenient to pet her. I gave her a good scratching before slapping her gently on the flank so she would move. I walked slowly back to the bed and decided to check my e-mail one last time.

My heart sped up and my hands got a little sweaty when I saw that there was a reply from Edward waiting in my Inbox. Taking a deep breath I opened it.

Hi Bella,

I'm happy to hear from you. Samson and I would love for you ladies to come visit us any day that you want. I'll be opening the shop at 2 everyday but Sundays and Wednesdays. I'm there by 12 though so just let me know when you would like to stop by. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Edward

As I finished reading the e-mail I let out an embarrassing squeal. I couldn't believe how happy getting a reply back from him made me! I think I'll go see them Thursday. Since today is Tuesday that would give me time to let him know and build up my nerve to get there. What a great day this has been, I thought to myself as I got comfortable in bed and settled down to go to sleep. The last thought crossing my mind before I drifted off was that I was looking forward to getting to know him


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to everyone who has given me words of encouragement. I couldnt agree more that this is an amazing plot and needs to be finished.

Chapter 3

EPOV

It's been a long day for Samson and me. We accomplished a lot so I was pretty happy with the way it turned out. I had finished unpacking the last of the boxes from the move today and then I took Samson down to the local pet store to pick up his food.

I'm so glad that they actually have it in stock. I had run into problems getting it, back where I used to live in North Carolina, because it wasn't a normally stocked product. Most of the time I had ended up ordering it directly from the manufacturer. It was a nice surprise to find that they actually carried it in stock. When I had called earlier that morning, on the off chance that they had it, I really didn't hold out much hope that they did. I spoke to a very nice sales person and they let me know that they kept it in stock for another local customer. It made me wonder what kind of dog they have. But since Samson was my best friend, and I would do whatever it took to take care of him, I was prepared to continue ordering from the manufacturer.

I got ready to leave and called out,"Come on Samson, let's go get you some food boy." He wagged his tail happily and followed me out to my SUV. I had actually purchased it just so that he would have plenty of room to ride in. I know I'm strange to go out and buy a new car just for a dog, but it worked for me. I put Samson in the car and we headed the five mile drive to the store. When we got there I wasn't sure about taking him in with me but figured that I would just ask when I got in there.

We walked up to the door and I stuck my head in. "Hi, do you guys mind if my dog comes in with me? I know he's big but he won't hurt anyone or anything," I asked the salesperson working the register.

"Sure he can, come on in!" she replied with a big smile for us. "We're used to big guys here. We have a customer who comes in and she has a dog that really looks a lot like him, only she is brindle," she added thoughtfully. I thanked her before heading off to look around the store. I had finally found the dog food aisle and was standing there looking it over to see where his dog food was when all of a sudden I felt the urge to look up. When I did I got the best surprise that I'd had in a good while.

There, coming around the corner, was a beautiful brindle dog. I thought that she was either an English Mastiff or an American Mastiff. Most people don't know the difference, but since Samson was an American Mastiff I could tell most of the time.

I followed the leash up to see the person holding it. As I stared at the beautiful lady in front of me, I couldn't help but be drawn to her big brown eyes. I noticed that she was checking us out just as thoroughly. I decided that I liked the pink in her hair that I could see peeking out through the brown strands. It was unusual, but it suited her. I decided to introduce myself at once. After chatting a while I discovered that her dog's name was Delilah and joined in her laughter over them being Samson and Delilah, like from the story in the bible.

From the time she told me her name I was captivated by her husky voice and imagined her calling my name out in the heat of passion. I had to shake my head to clear it of those thoughts so that I could actually concentrate on what she was saying.

As she was getting to know Samson, he nudged her too hard and knocked her over and I felt bad. I was glad that it gave me another excuse to touch her though. When Delilah knocked her into me, it was a great feeling to be able to hold her in my arms for a moment. I still couldn't get over the buzzing current that seemed to flow between us where ever we touched.

After talking to her a bit, I got her to promise to come by the shop one day so that Samson and Delilah can visit together. Honestly, it was just an excuse to be able to see her again. I was greatly relieved that she didn't seem to judge me because of my tattoos, and I know that's a rare occurrence around this small conservative town.

As I watched her walking away, I felt a little disgruntled that I couldn't spend more time with her today. There is just something that is drawing me towards her. It was the whole package that she was. She is so beautiful—from her long hair that I couldn't wait to touch, to her snug fitting jeans, all the way down to her scruffy work boots.

I had found that most of my male acquaintances didn't understand my draw to a larger woman, but there is just something about a confident lady who is comfortable in her own body that really gets to me. I hadn't always felt this way. When I was young and stupid I went for the whole hot body, no brains thing in the women that I dated. Thinking on it now, I'm so glad that I'm no longer that stupid guy, and that I have an appreciation for a real woman, not some Hollywood wanna-be . I can only hope that Bella will come by to see us sooner rather than later.

After getting Samson's food up to the register an paid for, I left the store. I immediately noticed Bella as she was getting into a large red pickup. I saw several sacks loaded in the back and wondered what they might be. I looked down at Samson and he was looking over that way also, as if he was just as drawn to them as I was. "Come on boy, get in," I told him as I opened up the back door of the SUV. I looked back one more time to see Bella lighting up a cigarette and thought that at least I didn't have to worry about my own smoking habit turning her off. Then I decided that I was getting ahead of myself with worrying about what would be a turn off for her. Giving a heavy sigh, I pulled out a Marlboro and lit up as I drove out of the parking lot.

Once I got back to the house that I had bought, I looked it over again. It was a modest sized, two bedroom, split level house. I had made it a priority to try to find a house that was on the outskirts of town. I just happened to luck out when I found this one that came with five acres of land. I had it fenced in before I moved so that I wouldn't have to worry about turning Samson out in the yard.

Not that Samson would hurt anyone, but most people were afraid of large dogs and he is the biggest that I have ever met, other than his sire. Samson is 35 inches tall at his shoulders and weighs 155 pounds. Yeah, he's big but he can be such a goof ball. Not to mention the fact that he was so loving to be around. I find myself talking out a lot of my problems and issues with him because he can be such a great listener. Now, if I could only convince him to give me some good advise sometime it would be wonderful.

I got out of the car and grabbed one of the sacks of dog food, slinging it over my shoulder as I made my way to the front door. After unlocking it, I quickly put his food away and got us loaded back into the car for the trip to my shop.

I'm proud to own my own shop now. I've worked as a tattoo artist for the last five years under a friend back in North Carolina. When things fell apart there I felt it was time to start a new chapter in my life, far away from all of the madness that was left behind. My parents didn't understand why I had to move half way across the country to find myself, but they are trying to be supportive about it. I'd found this little town when I was searching small towns on the Internet. There was just something about Rico, Colorado when I was looking at photos that had been posted of Main Street and the surrounding area. One of the biggest selling points was the breathtaking views it had. Since my house is on the outskirts of town, I have clear views of the surrounding mountains. I've found myself sitting out on my back porch in the evenings when I have a day off and just taking in everything. I can actually feel the peace from the mountains coming into my soul at times.

I pulled up to the front of the shop and quickly ran through my mental list of things left to finish up here before my grand opening on Friday. I have three days to get everything done. Most of my supplies are here and just need to be stocked in the back room. I have to get my autoclave set up and running and check to make sure my tattoo gun is performing like it should. I also have to get some furniture for the waiting area.

Some of my friends from back home don't think that this little conservative town will support a shop but I'm not really worried about it. I really don't need the money. I received a trust fund from my maternal grandparents when I turned twenty-five. I actually never have to work in my life if I don't want to. It's just that this is my passion and I truly enjoy creating permanent art for people.

As I headed into the stock room, Samson took up his usual place of official welcoming committee by the front desk. He's learned that he can't be in the back rooms. That's the first thing that I taught him as a puppy when I had gotten him. I can't take any chances with a customer's health or the sterility of my equipment. I've installed half doors going in all the rooms to prevent him from coming inside of them, but it still allowed me to see out into the waiting area. I quickly unpacked a few boxes and stocked some shelves before my stomach started growling, reminding me that I hadn't had much for breakfast this morning and it was moving past lunch time. Looking around, I decided that I was done here for the day and locked up.

Samson and I headed to the local diner for some supper. He doesn't like being left in the car, but deals well with it. I walk in the diner, find a booth and immediately I notice the looks that are being cast my way. The young, slim waitress stares and starts to eye fuck me on her way over.

"Well, hello there handsome," she simpered at me, "What can I get for you today? My name is Lauren, by the way," she said with what she thinks is a flirtatious smile.

"Can I get a cheese burger, no lettuce, with fries and a sweet tea?" I asked her, trying to avoid her hungry gaze.

"Sure thing honey! Coming right up!" She seductively replied.

As she walked away I tried to hold back the shiver of disgust that threatened to engulf me. Some guys may think she's hot, but I've met her type before and wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole. I've been there and done that and don't want to go back!

It didn't take long before she was back with my food. She leaned over more than was necessary as she placed my food on the table, trying to give me a free look down her shirt. I just looked away, hoping she would get the message.

"Is there _anything_ else you need? I mean _anything,_" she whispered to me.

I declined swiftly as she cast me a disappointed look because I didn't fall for her little show. I ate quickly, so as to avoid any more of her pick-up lines, and left the little diner.

Samson was happy to greet me when I got back in the car and so I gave him a good scratch behind the ears. He could tell that I was a little upset about something and whined comfortingly.

"Samson, that lady in there, and I use the term lady loosely! Anyway that lady just tried to hit me up for sex! I know that I used to take to girls like that, but now I'm just disgusted by it! I just wish that girls like that would leave me alone, ya know boy?" I ranted to Samson.

"Don't get me wrong, I used to use my good looks to my advantage. You remember, I'm sure. All the girls wanted to see if I was really the bad-ass that I appeared to be. I was all for them trying to find out. But these last few years it's just not what I want, Boy. I want to find someone who looks beyond the tattoos and long hair and bad-ass appearance to really see me. Is that too much to ask?" I asked him.

Samson whined, agreeing with me. Samson has been subjected to judgmental people himself. Most people are afraid to even get to know him because they think that because he's huge, he must be mean and dangerous. They don't get to know him well enough to find out that he is truly a gentle giant.

I think that I really started to change my ways when I got Samson. He just has this aptitude for judging people's character. I soon realized that he didn't really care for many of my so called friends. I've had him for three years now and it took me the better part of the first year to watch him and notice this. He wouldn't let them pet him or give him belly rubs. There were even several of the girls, like the one from the diner, that I had brought home and he would get between us like he was protecting me. This had actually worked to my advantage because I started to notice things about the people that I was hanging with. What kind of person they really were. I discovered that I really didn't like the person that I had become and wasn't all that fond of the people who were supposed to be my friends.

It all came to a head about six months ago. I had gone into work one day to find that the owner, who was supposedly my friend, having sex in the back room with my girlfriend. I told them both to fuck off and quit my job on the spot. That's what led me to where I am now. I had been thinking hard about my future and decided that I really needed a total break from the life that I was leading there. I started out by just browsing on the Internet, looking at different towns and I discovered this little town in the middle of nowhere Colorado and I loved it.

As I came out of my thoughts I realized that I had already made it home and pulled in the driveway and was just sitting there. Shaking off the thoughts of the past, I got out of the car with Samson and I unlocked the door as he wondered off to take care of his business. I walked through the living room and kitchen to head on out to the back porch. After bring up all of the old memories from my past I was in need of some calming views to take my mind off of it. I sat back in my chair, lit up a smoke, and just breathed slowly. Eventually, I felt much better and decided to head on in. After I let Samson and myself back in the house, I got out my laptop to check my e-mail. After shooting quick messages to my parents I saw that I had a new e-mail routed from the shop. When I opened it I started smiling. It was from Bella and she wanted to know about a good time to come to the shop. After replying to that I decided to head on in to the shower.

As I walked to the bathroom I pulled my t-shirt over my head and dropped it in the hamper. I looked at the large shower and reached in to turned on the water. While that was warming I stripped off the rest of my clothes. After a few moments, the water was just right and I climbed in. I washed my hair and conditioned it. I've discovered that if I didn't put conditioner in it, it's really hard to comb. Sometimes I think about cutting it off, but it just isn't me. Every time I'd get close to cutting it I'd remind myself that I like my hair long. While standing there, washing my body off, I couldn't help but think about Bella again. I could just imagine her in the shower with me and I realized that all I had succeeded in doing was giving myself a massive hard on. I quickly took matters in hand as I imagined her calling out my name in that sexy, husky voice of hers and that was all it took to fall into a blissful daze. I braced my hands on the wall, breathing heavily, while I recovered.

After washing away the evidence of my pleasure, I turned the water off and got out. Briskly drying off, I realized that I hadn't brought any clothes with me. I wrapped the towel around my waist and went back in the bedroom. I decided that it was clothing optional tonight and threw the towel back in the bathroom. Laying back on the bed I closed my eyes for a minute, collecting my thoughts. I reached over to grab my laptop to see if Bella had replied yet. I scanned the messages and was a little disappointed that she hadn't written back yet. I closed the computer and turned off the lights, getting ready to go to sleep. As I lay there in the dark I tried to center my thoughts and relax. I was almost asleep when I heard a female voice calling my name. I jerked up in the bed and looked around. I just knew that it was Bella. I think that I'll always recognize that voice of hers now. "Damn" I muttered, "Now I'm hearing her voice." I tried to settle back down. I was once again close to drifting off when I swore I heard someone calling for Delilah. Once again I sat up in the bed looking around. Logically, I knew that she wasn't there. But for some reason I couldn't help but search anyway. I lay down after thinking about it for a while and decided that I was just hearing things. I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face as I once again thought about Bella.

Soon I was waking to the sun streaming through the windows. Today's Wednesday and technically my day off, but with the shop opening the day after tomorrow I soon decided that it would be better spent working. I checked my email once again and smiled happily when there was a reply from Bella. She wants to come by the shop tomorrow. I'm glad that she's coming in before opening day, that way I don't have to worry about anyone coming in. I'll be able to spend all of the time with her and not with clients. I let Samson outside and we soon started our day.

Before I know it, it's already Thursday and I'm looking forward to seeing Bella and Delilah. I was just coming out from the stock room when I heard a soft knock on the shop door. I smiled as I opened the door to see that Bella was standing there dressed in a pair of purple and white Bermuda shorts with a purple, short sleeved button up. It takes everything I have to pry my eyes away from the tempting flesh exposed by the three undone buttons at the top. I pulled the door open wide to see Delilah on a leash and beside her was a little girl with long curly blonde hair wearing a pair of jean shorts and a pink tee shirt with princesses on it. I noticed how much she looks like Bella and I'm assuming that she is related to her.

"Hi! It's great to see you guys. Come on in," I said, leading them into the waiting area while motioning around. "Did you have any trouble finding us?"

"Nah, I knew where it was already. I've been by this place a couple of times in the past," she said.

I watched her nervously look down at the little girl and then look back up at me.

"Edward, I would like you to meet my daughter, Gracie," she said quietly.

I knelt down in front of her and watched as her wide green eyes looked at all of my tattoo's before she looked up at me.

"Hello Gracie, my name is Edward. How are you today?" I asked her while holding my hand out.

Gracie looked up at Bella for permission to shake my hand and Bella nudged her a little before Gracie reached out her hand to grasp mine.

"Hi," she whispered before hiding her face in Bella's leg. I watched as Bella ran her fingers through Gracie's hair for a moment before I stood back up. I couldn't help but smile at them standing there.

"So, are you ready to open?" she asked looking around the bare waiting area.

"Almost!" I told her as I looked around the room. "I just have a few more boxes to get unpacked and stocked on the shelves. I also need to get some chairs and a couch for the waiting area. That's about it I think. I'll have to wait until I find somewhere that will deliver the furniture for me though. Oh, I also need to hang some flash designs up on the walls." I rambled and then looked over at her.

"I don't want us to interfere with you getting everything ready for tomorrow. . . wait, you seriously don't have any furniture yet?" she asked me in amazement.

"Well, I can't haul it in my SUV and I kept putting it off, thinking that I will go 'tomorrow'. Somehow 'tomorrow' hasn't gotten here yet and now the real tomorrow is opening day. Shi, Um shoot, I'm screwed aren't I?" I asked her while shooting a quick glance at Gracie.

"Well, how about this?" she replied. "Why don't we go in my truck? That way you can try to find something to put in here before you open. That is if you don't mind us going with you, I didn't mean to invite ourselves along." She added as she looked down at the floor with a nervous blush.

"Are you sure Bella? I don't want you to feel like you have to help and I don't want to mess up your plans for the day or anything." I didn't want to intrude but was hoping that she would go.

"Edward, If I wasn't sure, then I wouldn't have offered. Besides, I've already done all of the morning chores and feeding at the ranch so I'm good to go till late this evening," she told me with a smile playing on her full lips. "We'll just need to run back by my house to unload some of the stuff on the back of my truck into the barn. How is Samson with waiting in the car? Delilah is cool for about an hour before she starts getting antsy," she said.

"Samson really doesn't like having to wait, but he won't destroy anything. Do you think he and Delilah will be okay together though?" I asked her while looking over at the dogs. "Never mind, I think they'll be just fine!" I laughed.

I saw that Gracie was staring hard over at Samson and I could just tell that she wanted to pet him. Samson and Delilah had gotten comfortable over in a corner of the room and were laying side by side with their heads together. As we stood there looking at them Samson reached over and licked Delilah's muzzle and then rested his head on her shoulder.

I called Samson over and introduced him to Gracie and he fell in love with her. It was quite humorous to see this little girl surrounded by the two enormous dogs. She wasn't nervous at all, and was soon loving on him like he was her own.

"Well, I think we may have a bit of a problem here," I said looking at Bella out of the corner of my eye. "It looks like they're really enjoying each other's company. You may just have to leave Delilah here!" I joked.

Gracie looked quickly up at me with a frown, saying "No way! You can't have Delilah!"

Bella looked quickly down at her and rubbed her head while she told her that I was just joking and that Delilah would be going home with them and finished with, "Besides, Samson may just have to come home with us!" She joked back to me.

We shared a smile and decided that we should get going if we were going to get anything done today as it was already 12:30 in the afternoon. After I walked them out and locked the shop up, I turned to look at her truck.

"So, are you sure that they'll both fit in the back seat with Gracie?" I questioned her.

"Are you questioning my trucks hauling ability?" she said with a laugh as she opened the back passenger door. I watched her fiddle with a lever and noticed her moving something.

"Hey, can you go around to the other door and pull that lever over there?" she asked pointing.

I walked around and did as she asked and was amazed as I watched her pull a panel out from under the seat. It expanded the seating area so that Samson and Delilah wouldn't fall into the floorboard.

"This is great!" I told her in appreciation.

"Yeah, I had it installed in the truck when I first bought it. I figured that I may need something like this one day," she replied and then called Delilah over.

"Come on girl, in you go," she ordered.

After Bella got Delilah loaded I called Samson over to me.

"Ok, boy, in," I told him.

He sniffed around the door opening before jumping up on the seat with Delilah. I stepped back so that Bella could get Gracie settled into her car seat. I watched as she buckled all of these different straps and couldn't figure out how she could do it so quickly. It looked like it would take a set of instructions to figure it out. When she was finished and stepped back out of the way, I closed the door and turned to see Bella standing behind me.

"So, umm, where would you like to go for the furniture?" she asked me with a blush.

"Well, since I just moved out here a little over a week ago, I don't really know where to go. Do you have any idea's or know of any places nearby?" I asked while walking around to the driver's side and opening the door.

I motioned for her to get in before closing the door and making my way back around the front of the truck to get in myself. As I buckled up I looked over to see her with a perplexed look in her beautiful brown eyes.

"What?" I asked her.

"Sorry," she said in a low voice. "I just haven't had anyone open a door for me like that in a very long time. It just threw me for a loop!" she said as I could see the blush climbing her cheeks.

It made me want to smooth a finger across it to see if her skin is as soft and warm as it looks.

"Thank you!" she told me.

After she cranked up her large truck she looked at me as she grabbed a pack of cigarettes off of the dash. "Do you mind if I smoke?" she asked as she pulled one out of the pack. I noticed that they were Marlboro Light 100's. I shook my head no as I pulled my own Marlboro's out of my pocket and said, "As long as you don't mind either." We shared a grin as we both lit up while rolling down our windows.

"So what kind of furniture do you want in your shop? I mean, that'll help me figure out where we should go," she said before taking a draw off of her cigarette.

"Well, I dunno really. As long as it's comfortable, that's really all that matters. Well, that and it has to be easy to clean," I told her as I scratched Delilah's head over the back of the seat.

I looked over to see Gracie staring at me quietly. I flashed her a smile before turning back around to face the front of the truck.

"Okay then," she said. "Do you want new or used? Fancy or plain? Leather or cloth?"

"Well, I really don't care if it is new or used. I prefer leather though, because it's easier to clean. I would like it to be a dark color too. Black, brown, or a dark red would be great," I assured her.

"Alright. Now I know just where to go. There's a place a couple of town's over that stocks all of the above on your list. It'll only take about half an hour to get there," she replied. "I just have to stop by the house first though, so that I can unload that stuff and put it in the barn."

I watched her as she pulled out of the parking lot and made her way through town. After tearing my eyes from her profile, I looked up and noticed that we were getting ready to pass my house.

"Hey that's my place right there."

"That's cool!" she quipped. "I like living out here, how about you?" she asked as she pulled into the next drive up from mine. I couldn't believe just how close we lived to one another.

I looked over at her as we were driving up her long driveway and noticed how the wind from the window was blowing strands of her hair around and told her that I was really enjoying the view. She agreed with me as we pulled up beside the barn. Backing around to the barn doors, she quickly got out of the truck and I jumped out to help. There wasn't much on the truck, just some random tools, poles, and wire. I don't know what they are for, but hoped that I could ask her about them soon and she could show me. After putting everything into an empty stall she grabbed a broom and climbed up in the bed to sweep it out.

"Can you let the tail gate down for me?" she asked as she began sweeping.

"Sure! Is there anything else that I can do?"

She told me no and finished sweeping out the bed. After tossing the broom to the ground she came to the edge of the tailgate and was going to jump down. I quickly reached out and grabbed her waist to help her.

"You don't have to do that! I'm too heavy to be lifting on!" she said while her cheeks turned bright red.

"Bella, you are most definitely NOT too heavy to lift!" I retorted as I proved exactly that by grabbing her firmly around the waist and pulling her towards me.

It didn't take but a few short seconds to lift her off the truck and I couldn't help but wish it had taken longer. I sat her carefully on her feet and held on just a moment longer to make sure she was steady before reluctantly releasing her from my grasp. I had noticed that as soon as I had touched her that the buzzing feeling was back. Not wanting to sever the contact, I reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear and couldn't resist running my thumb over her cheek bone. Her skin is like the softest silk I've ever seen or touched. Somehow I mustered the strength to remove my hand and resist the urge to touch her again.

With another blush she thanked me for helping her down. I led her back to the driver side door and opened it for her. After we were both settled in her truck she started to pull away when Gracie called out that she had to go to the bathroom. Bella shot me an apologetic smile before getting back out and getting Gracie out of her car seat. She was only gone a few moments before she was back and putting Gracie back into her seat. After getting resettled in the driver's seat, she took off down her driveway and soon we were on the road.


	4. Chapter 4

As always, Stephanie Meyer owns all Twilight characters. I just own this story line. :)

Chapter 4

As I looked over at Edward, I kept contemplating what had happened in the barn. The way he had lifted me so easily from the bed of my truck truly astounded me. Something like that has never ever happened to me before. He made me feel like some little petite woman instead of the person that I am . I do have to admit that it was a thrilling ride down though! It was all I could do to keep from sinking my fingers into his thick hair and never letting go. I still haven't figured out the pull that I feel towards this man. It's almost a compulsion with me. I would like nothing more that to be able to reach over and hold his hand or just touch him somewhere!

We were getting close to the furniture store and I realized that we had ridden there in relative silence. It was an easy quiet and didn't feel strained at all. I looked up into the rear-view mirror to see that Gracie was sound asleep in her car seat.

I looked over at him again as I was lighting up another smoke.

"So, how long have you been tattooing?"

"I worked for five years at my old shop in North Carolina. This is the first time that I've worked for myself, though," he said. "I just hope that I don't run into any problems with the people of this town. I've noticed that it seems to be rather conservative and I'm not sure how things will work out."

"You're right about the conservativeness of the town, but I think that there are some people with an open mind," I let him know. "I know that when I first moved here a few years ago, there were a lot of people who judged me and looked down on me because I was a single mom who decided to live outside of town with just a dog for company. I choose to live with a gi-normous dog! Oh, and don't forget that I have pink hair!" I said with a laugh. "For the most part, everyone leaves me alone now and it's only a rare occurrence that I still get the unwanted and unneeded advise about my living arrangements, hair, finding a dad for Gracie, and/or loosing weight."

"Are you shitting me!?" he said in amazement before casting a sheepish look over his shoulder at Gracie for cursing. "They really try to give you advise on all of that? That's crazy! It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that some people can be clueless. What's that saying again? Judge not lest ye be judged?"

"Well, yeah, I know that and you know that. Apparently they don't know that, though!" I said with a smile. "But, overall, I really like this little town. The people really look out for each other and help out when they can. Yeah, they can be nosy as hell, but most of them back off when they're set straight."

"Bella, I'm glad that I'm not the only odd one out then. Maybe we should stick together? I've already gotten some looks when I've been out in town. Most of them don't bother me though. When you choose to cover your body with tattoos, you have to be willing to be stared at to some extent, ya know? I've learned to ignore them for the most part."

"I know," I told him. "But why should we have to put up with it? We did nothing wrong! UGH! I just get so frustrated sometimes about the whole thing. Do you know how many times I have been told: Bella, you would be so pretty if you would just take that pink out of your hair, or Bella, if you just lost a little weight you would be able to find you a nice young man to settle down with to help you raise that girl of yours. Well, it's a bunch of bullshit! Why can't I be pretty and happy by just being me and have all of my quirks intact?"

When I finally got off my soap box, I looked over at him and realized that he was staring at me with a smirk.

"What?" I snapped at him.

I immediately felt bad for taking out my bad humor on him, and opened my mouth to apologize, but he reached over and placed his finger over my lips to keep them closed. I was amazed at the tingle that shot through my lips at his touch.

"Bella, I totally understand where you are coming from! I've been judged since I decided to let my hair grow out and it got worse once the tattoos started showing up," he explained. "People have decided what kind of person I am based on nothing but the way I look. I get so frustrated sometimes, but I decided a long time ago that as long as I'm happy with who I am, then what others think or say is not my problem. It doesn't define me. One last thing, I think that you are perfect just the way that you are. Don't let anyone else tell you any differently!"

I sat there stunned at his words. Yeah, I heard everything he said about people judging him but honestly, I was caught up in him saying that I was perfect the way I was. I had yet to hear that from anyone, well other than my parents of course, but especially from a man that I was really starting to like and had just met two days before. Before I could stop myself, I reached over and gave his hand a squeeze

"Thanks Edward. That means a lot to me that you would say that. I really appreciate it." I gave him a big smile while I was reveling in the hum coming from the contact of my hand on his. "I want you to know that I refuse to judge people on how they look. I think that if you're happy with yourself, who am I to judge you? I happen to think that you are perfect just the way you are, too," I said, feeling a little shy about the whole thing. I could feel a blush starting to spread across my cheeks as I pulled my hand back and grabbed the steering wheel. I decided that I needed to change the subject before I embarrassed myself any further.

"So . . . um, the store that we're going to has a big selection of furniture. They have everything from new contemporary stuff to some older vintage pieces. I think we should be able to find what you're looking for somewhere in there."

He looked me in the eyes and gave a small smile, letting me know that he could see through my attempt to change the subject and was going to let me off the hook. "That sounds great," he said. "I want to thank you again for helping me out with this. I don't know when I would have gotten around to it if you hadn't."

"Really Edward, it's not a problem. I'm glad to help, if only to get a chance to spend more time with Samson!" I teased him good-naturedly.

He scoffed at me with a smile and said, "Oh, I see how it is. You just like me for my dog!"

I gave him a big smile. "You know it, Mister!"

I saw the furniture store just ahead and nudged Edward to let him know. I found a parking space near the front of the store. We told the dogs to be good while we were gone. I got Gracie unbuckled but she refused to wake up. I pulled her into my arms and couldn't help the small smile as she nuzzled her nose into my neck and settled back to sleep. As we started walking up to the store, I could feel the tension mounting between us. I wanted so badly to reach over and grab his hand again, but didn't think that he would like that. I reached up and ran my fingers through my hair and pushed a piece of it behind my ear. It's a habit that I have when I'm nervous. As we got to the steps leading up to the door, I could feel Edward's hand hovering near my back. It's just another thing he does that I find appealing. I've never had a man do these kinds of things for me before and I've quickly come to like it.

When we got to the door he reached around me to open it. "Ladies first!" he said with a smile.

"Thank you, Kind Sir!" I told him with a grin.

We walked in and I noticed the saleslady looking us over. I could see her eyeing Edward from head to toe and licking her lips. I was not looking forward to her coming over. I hesitated for a moment, not really wanting to deal with the woman, when Edward turned to me and asked where to go first.

"Well!" I said while looking around. "Why don't we start at the back and work our way to the front?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." he said. "So, tell me, what kind of couch do you think would look good in the waiting area?"

"Personally, I think either a black or red couch would work best. Are the walls going to stay the color they are or are you going to paint them? I think that dark red walls with black furniture would be really cool." I told him with a smile.

"I really like that idea, I just don't know if I have time to paint the room tonight. You wanna help me?" he said with a laugh.

I think I really surprised him when I told him yes.

"Edward, I think that's a great idea. Can't you just picture it? Think about how the flash will look up there, against the red walls and then put the black furniture in there and it'll look really great!" I said enthusiastically.

"Bella I was just kidding when I asked you that, but if you're serious about helping me then I think we should do it. I can picture it in my head, like you were saying," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Sure thing Edward. We can run by Lowe's on the way out of town and grab some paint. I just have to swing by the house to feed the horses and get them in for the night before we start, and then I'll be free for the evening." I was getting excited about being with Edward for several more hours tonight.

Edward grabbed my hand and turned me towards him. He then put his hand on my free shoulder. I could feel the tingling spreading down to my fingers and beyond. "Bella I really do appreciate everything that you are doing to help me. Please, let me make it up to you! How about I give you a tattoo on the house, I'll even throw in dinner too?" His smile was irresistible and I found myself agreeing before I knew it.

When I came out of the stupor I was in from being so close to him, I realized just what I had agreed to do. "Edward, you don't have to do that, ya know? I'll help you anyway." I told him as I shifted Gracie from one shoulder to the other.

"Bella, I've figured out that you would help me anyway. I just wanted to do something for you in return. The only thing I really have to offer is my skills as a tattoo artist. Do you not want one? I know some people really don't care for them. I won't be offended if you don't," he said.

"I didn't mean to make you think that! I would be honored for you to give me a tattoo. I actually have three of them already. I've also been itching to get back under the needle so this will be great. I just don't know what I want yet!" I excitedly told him.

We were walking through the aisles of the store as we were talking and I happened to glance up and to the right. There sat the perfect couch for his shop. It was an overstuffed leather couch that was the perfect shade of black. I reached out and grabbed him by the arm to stop him. "There!" I said pointing, "There it is! It'll be perfect in the shop!"

He looked over to where I was pointing and reached out and took me by the hand and twisted our fingers together. I immediately felt like I had come home. It was really hard to describe the feeling that coursed through me from such a simple action. I wished that it never had to stop.

"You're right! This is great. I can't wait to get it to the shop!" he said. "Please, come sit down with me," he told me, pulling me down gently next to him on the couch so that he wouldn't disturb Gracie. "It's really comfortable too. So, now we just have to find a few chairs to go with it."

"We can do that next." I told him while grinning.

He was so cute when he was this excited. It also helped that he had slung his arm over the back of the couch behind me. When I turned my head to see him, an amazing scent danced around my nose. It smelled of mountains, wind, and ink! I don't know if he was wearing cologne or what it was. All I know is that I had the sudden urge to bury my nose in his chest and breath him in like I do when the fresh mountain air comes floating down to my back porch.

He stood up and held his hand out to me. I reached up to take it and he pulled me up to my feet.

"Bella, do you want me to carry Gracie for you? I know she has to be getting heavy by now," he asked me.

I debated for a second but then I gladly relinquished her into his strong arms. After he had her hitched up onto his shoulder, I stood there in awe of the sight before me. The sight of him holding onto the most precious person in my world gave me chill bumps. I smiled as I watched Gracie snuggle into his neck, like she does with me. As we started walking he once again held on to my hand with our fingers intertwined and I led him over to the section of the store that had the chairs.

We were walking down the aisle towards the chairs when I felt him stiffen next to me. I looked up at him questioningly and followed his eyes to see what he was looking at. I turned and saw the same sales lady as before. She came strutting up to us while ignoring me and fawning over Edward. I mean really! The man was holding my daughter against his chest and had my hand in his, yet she ignored everything but him. He pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arm around my waist. I looked back and forth between them and felt a little smug when he said that we were just fine and that we would let her know if we needed any help. This was all said while he was looking at me and ignoring her.

She huffed angrily and spat, "Just come find me if you need anything!" she said as she stormed off.

After she walked away, he removed his arm, grabbed my hand again and led me off once again towards the chairs.

"Bella, I'm sorry about that back there. I hope you didn't mind me invading your space," he whispered quietly into my ear as we walked on to the chairs.

"I didn't mind at all Edward, and I understood why you did it. In fact, I rather enjoyed it," I said smiling up at him while squeezing his hand.

We made it to the chair section and I really didn't see anything that caught my eye. Edward on the other hand, had spotted these great black and red high backed chairs. The chair frame was the same shade of black as the couch and the cushions were a dark red. There were four of them there and he decided that they would look great around the waiting area and I totally agreed!

He led me up to the cashier so that he could pay for all of the furniture and to arrange for it to be loaded on the truck. We were informed it would take about half an hour to get it all around to the loading area. We took that time to go out and take Samson and Delilah for a quick walk.

I had just got the dogs out of the truck when I looked over at Edward and Gracie. She was starting to wake up and I waited to see what would happen. Gracie leaned back and looked up at Edward for a moment before giving him a shy smile. I heard him whisper a hello to her while he waited to see what she would do. She grinned up at him before looking around to find me. When she spotted me she started to wiggle in his arms, wanting to be let down. He sat her carefully on her feet and she came running up to me. I bent down, ready to give her a hug but she went strait to Samson and gave him one instead. I pretended to huff angrily at her and teased her about wanting the dog more than me. She just gave me an angelic smile before leaving Samson and going over to Delilah and giving her a hug too. I happened to catch Edward from the corner of my eye and saw that he was laughing at me. So I ,very maturely, stuck my tongue out at him where Gracie couldn't see me.

I watched as he quickly stood up strait and saw his chest hitch as he drew in a breath. I wasn't sure what that was about, but before I could question him on it Gracie was tugging on my hand, wanting to walk the dogs.

If we got odd looks before, we were getting about five times as many now. It isn't often that you see two of these beautiful dogs together. On top of that, the two non-conformist people who were walking them while holding the hand of a little girl. One had pink hair showing and the other was covered in tattoos. It was only a matter of time before we were approached by a curious bystander. It happened to be a mother with her young son. He appeared to only be around four years old and he was so excited to be able to meet Samson and Delilah. I was rather surprised that she would bring him over, but she explained that they had a Great Dane at home and they were used to being around big dogs. Her little boy found all of the itchy spots on the dogs and helped Gracie throughly scratched them.

After a few minutes they said their goodbyes and we realized that it was time to head on over to the loading area. We got the dogs and Gracie loaded in the truck and drove around to the back of the store. Edward and I got out to supervise the loading of his furniture while Gracie was entertained with a couple of books that I kept in the truck for her. He decided to help them load everything in the truck to make it quicker.

I felt the breath hitch in my chest yet again as I watched his muscles playing beneath his black tee-shirt and watched as his biceps bulged when he was lifting on the couch. My mouth went dry, and I had to concentrate on something else for a minute to get my thoughts back out of the gutter.

He squatted down to grab the bottom of the chair to lift it and I watched his thighs bulge as he stood up. He placed the heavy chair on the back of the truck with ease.

I couldn't help but think "Day-um!"

The weird part is that as soon as I thought that, he turned around to stare at me with this intense look in his green eyes. It was almost like he could hear what I was thinking. I casually averted my gaze from his and watched the other men load the rest of the furniture, and saw that it took two men to load a single chair unlike Edward who could do it by himself. The whole time I could feel his eyes on me.

Once the workers were finished we thanked them for their help and got back in the truck. I quickly lit up a smoke to help calm my nerves. I watched him from the corner of my eye as he did the same. The way he cradled that cigarette between his long fingers made me want him even more. I took a deep breath as I pulled out into traffic, fighting the urge to just reach over and lick him. I mean seriously! Licking the man! But the sad fact was that I could imagine tracing my tongue over the swirls of his tattoos and it was doing nothing for my composure.

Reining in my lust once again, I drove us to Lowe's. He offered to get Gracie out for me and I watched in amusement as he fought with the straps and buckles. Once he finally won the battle with the car seat, he shot me a triumphant smile as he gently lifted Gracie out and put her on the ground. I smiled when I watched her grab ahold of his fingers as they walked to the front of the truck. When we met there, he casually reached out and grabbed my hand again. It was becoming habit forming very quickly. It just felt right for my small hand to be nestled in his larger one. We made our way over to the paint counter and looked through all of the samples trying to find the right color of red for the walls.

"Do you want a bright red or a dark red?" I asked him while sorting through the paint cards.

"I think a darker red will look better with the black furniture," he replied while absentmindedly playing with my fingers and tracing his fingertips over the ends of my fingernails.

After a few minutes, he found several samples that he liked and squatted down to ask Gracie which one was her favorite for the paint. She chose a very dark, blood red color while smiling in delight. When I closed my eyes I could picture it in my mind. After considering the options for the texture of the paint he wanted, he decided that a eggshell paint would work the best and we took everything up to the counter to be mixed. As we stood in line I noticed that the man who was working the counter kept staring at me. Before I could look away he sent a wink my way. So, I took a page out of Edward's book and casually wrapped my free arm around his waist.

I leaned into him and whispered up towards his ear "Do you mind if I do this? The guy up there is trying to be a little too friendly. He keeps smiling and winking at me!"

He looked up while placing his arm across my shoulders. Leaning down, he proceeded to whisper right next to my ear, "It's no problem. In fact I kinda like it."

I shivered from the feel of his warm breath drifting across my ear and when I looked up at him he winked and gave me a sexy smirk. I could feel the blush start to cross over my cheeks. He was watching me and when he saw it, he reached his free hand over and traced my cheek with his thumb, just like he had done in the barn earlier that day. It sent a little shock wave through me again.

"I could definitely get used to this," I thought.

Once again he cut his eyes back to me like he could hear my thoughts. I dunno what's going on with us, but I found myself enjoying it, whatever it was.

When it was our turn to step up to the counter, I excused myself and Gracie and I walked over to look at random things on the shelf. Then I realized that we were going to need some supplies to be able to paint tonight. I walked down the aisle to grab some rollers, trays, tape, and a drop cloth.

When I was bending over to grab the paint trays, I heard someone say, "Look at that ass!"

I stood quickly, intent on finding out who it was. When I turned around I was surprised to see Edward walking towards us.

"I'm sorry, but did you say something?" I asked him confused.

"Um, no. Sorry," he said with a slight blush covering his cheeks.

Now I felt silly about the whole thing. Maybe I was hearing voices, well his voice, in my head. It was just like the other night.

"Are you okay, Bella?" he asked with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied. "It's just that I could have sworn I heard you say something thats all."

He gave me an odd look while saying, "Well, anyway, I came to tell you that the paint is ready and we can go if your finished here." He noticed my full arms and said, "What do you have there?" while eying the items in question.

"Oh, I just realized that we were going to need this stuff if we're going to paint tonight." I said while holding my arms up to show him what I had. "I got some paint trays, rollers, a drop cloth, and some tape."

"Oh, yeah. I'm glad you thought of that. We would have definitely been SOL if you hadn't," he said with a laugh.

He reached over and took the rollers from me so that I could hold the rest of the items more easily. We walked back up to the counter, Gracie walking beside me, to pick up the paint and the man there was once again giving me the once over. I frowned at him and stepped closer to Edward. He saw what was happening and put his arm around my waist again. I leaned into his side breathing in his scent and thanked him. He gave me a quick squeeze before trying to grab the paint with the hand that he was holding the rollers with. I could see he was having some difficulty trying to hold everything so I took the rollers back from him to make it easier for him to get the paint. He whispered a quiet thanks and we walked up to the register. After he payed for all of our paint and supplies, we walked back out to the truck. Edward loaded everything in the back while I got Gracie situated in her seat. Then he walked me back to the truck door and opened it for me.

"Would you like to drive back?" I asked him while holding the truck keys.

I didn't think I could concentrate on the road with him sitting there beside me again. I held out the keys to him and saw him debating whether or not he should accept.

"It's okay, really. I just thought that if you drove some it would help you find your way around the next time you have to come over here. Don't worry, I trust you with my baby," I told him with a smile.

He grabbed the keys from my hand and walked me around to the passenger side and opened the door for me. After I got in he closed the door for me with a grin and quickly walked back around to the driver's side. He climbed inside flashing me a smile and quickly started the truck.

"I have to tell ya, I've been itching to drive this truck all day!" he laughed. "Thanks for trusting me with it!"

"You're welcome," I said as I reached over to fiddle with the radio.

I quickly found some music that we both liked and started to sing along softly with it. When I heard Gracie singing along, I looked over and shared a smile with Edward. I noticed that Edward was singing along with the song, too. He glanced back over at me and sent a smile my way when he saw that I was looking at him. I smiled back in happiness as I got situated for the ride home.

We settled in for the quick drive home and before I knew it we were pulling up at the shop. Edward quickly turned the truck around and backed us up to the door. We got out and let the dogs out. Samson led Delilah around the parking lot to take care of what ever business they needed done. I kept an eye on them to make sure that they didn't wander to far from my sight. I decided to leave Gracie in the truck while we unloaded the furniture so that she wouldn't be in the way or get hurt. I watched as Edward unlocked the front door. I walked over to him and we went into the waiting area. I stood there looking around thinking about what we had to do. It was already 3:00 and I realized that I only had a couple of hours before I needed to get home to feed up for the night.

"Hey Edward, I think that once we get the furniture in, we should put it all in the middle of the room. That way we can paint and not worry about getting it on anything." I said while looking around. "Then, I need to run home to feed for the night before we start painting. That way I won't have to stop in the middle to go do it."

"Sure, I think that's a good idea. I can come help you, too. That way you can get done faster and then we can grab something for supper before we start painting," he said.

"That's fine with me. I appreciate you wanting to help me out. It shouldn't take too long because I only have a couple of horses to get in and feed," I said as I started walking back out to the truck.

I looked around to find Delilah laying in the shade of the building with Samson near by. After I checked on Gracie again I turned to Edward and asked him how he wanted to go about unloading everything.

"Well, I'll take the chairs off first I think. I can set them to the side while we unload the couch," he said while opening the tailgate.

He reached up and grabbed the first chair and easily pulled it off the truck. He set it to the side of the door and turned back to the truck. I climbed up in the truck bed and pushed the chairs towards him so that he could reach them easier.

Before I knew it, all of the chairs were unloaded and it was time to tackle getting the couch unloaded.

"Why don't I just stay up here and that way I can push the couch down while your pulling it?" I asked him.

"OK, I think that'll work," he said while gripping the couch firmly. "I'll stop pulling when we get to the end of the tailgate. That way you can jump down," he told me.

"All right, you ready?" I asked and he nodded in approval.

"Here we go then!" I said smiling.

Pushing steadily on the couch while he was pulling, quickly led to me jumping down and grabbing the bottom of the couch. We moved to the door and realized that it was a bit bigger than we had thought. We had to tilt the couch over on its side to get it through the door. But soon, after a little trial and error, we succeeded. When we sat the couch down in the middle of the room, we both moved to sit down.

"This thing is heavier than it looks!" I told him with a sigh.

"You didn't hurt yourself did you?" he asked with a worried frown.

"Relax Edward, I'm fine. I just didn't think it was going to be quite that heavy. But you have to admit, now that it's in here, it was so worth the effort to get it through the door!" I joked with him.

"Yeah, I think you're right about that!" he said while looking around.

"Well, time for me to get the chairs. You just sit still and rest and I'll bring 'em in. It won't take but a few minutes and then we can go to your place. I'll check on Gracie, too, when I go out" he said.

"Okay. I think I'm just going to stretch out here for a minute!" I told him while laying back.

I stretched out on the couch and closed my eyes. It was so relaxing to lay there after all of the moving we had done. Laying there, with my eyes closed, I could hear Edward moving around and setting the chairs down. Soon I heard the pitter patter of little feet and realized that he had gotten Gracie out of the truck.

"Momma! I have to go potty!" she called out as she walked over to the couch. I looked up at her and nodded before climbing off of the comfortable couch. I looked over at Edward and he told me where to find the restroom before he went back out to get some more chairs. Once Gracie was taken care of, I quickly reclaimed my place on the couch while she sat in the corner playing with the dogs.

Smiling to myself, I remembered how effortlessly he lifted the furniture earlier and that led to me remembering how he lifted me from the truck so easily. I reached up to move my hair out from under my neck and let it fan across the cushion above me. I heard a slight gasp from the corner and opened my eyes slowly to look over. Turning my head, I saw that Edward was staring at me with a smoldering look in his green eyes. I held my breath as he walked over to the couch and knelt down beside me. He slowly reached out and ran his fingers through my hair where it was spread out over the black cushion. I inhaled deeply of his unique scent. I still haven't quite figured out what it is, but I would bathe in it if I could.

"Bella," he started huskily, "Your hair is so beautiful spread out like this. The way the way it looks fanned out on the couch is amazing." He looked down at me and gently cupped my cheek in his large hand while running his thumb over my cheek bone. "In fact, I think that you are pretty amazing. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, but it seems as though I can't control the urge to reach out and touch some part of you. It's like a compulsion and I actually ache with it. Please, let me know if I'm freaking you out with any of this. I really don't mean to! I still don't understand it myself. I have never felt this pull towards another person in my life!"

I just lay there for a moment and absorbed his words. He was looking at me hopefully, like I can explain what is going on between us.

"Edward, I really don't know what to say," I told him as I sat up, "I haven't felt this before either. It's like I need to be able to touch you, and when we are touching it feels like coming home. Like . . . like I have found my place in the world, the one place where I know, deep in my soul, that I belong. Does this make any sense to you?" I asked him as I reached out to thread my fingers through his.

I concentrated on the feelings coursing through me while I waited for my words to be processed by him. I wasn't sure how he was going to react. I felt that we were moving way to fast in one respect because we had only met two days ago, but yet on the other hand, I felt as if I had known him for a life time.

"Bella, I understand what you're saying. I feel it too, but I was worried that it was just me," he said while playing with my fingers.

"How about this, how about we just see where this will go?" he asked.

He looked down and gazed hopefully into my eyes and reached out to cup my face in his hand again. I turned my face into his palm and drug my lips across it. I felt him shiver in return.

"Edward, I have to admit this scares me a little. It's kinda hard for me to process all these feelings that've come up so fast," I said. I could see the disappointed look in his eyes and I rushed to fix it. "But, I don't think I could live with myself if I let this, whatever it is, pass me by. So, yeah, I think we should see where it goes."

I saw the big grin spread over his face as he realized that I had agreed with him. I kept slipping furtive glances at his lips, wishing that he would kiss me, but to afraid to make the move myself. I licked my lips as he eased closer to me.

"Bella, I think I'm gonna kiss you now," he whispered right before his lips landed softly on mine.

His lips were soft, yet formed firmly to mine as they press against me. I felt a low moan leaving my throat as he brushed his mouth across mine. It was perfect and I wanted to taste him, so I parted my lips to try to coax his tongue out to play. He bit down on my lower lip with his teeth and then sucked lightly on it. I could feel a response shoot straight down to my lady bits.

I pulled back slightly so that I could look at him and I realized that I had fisted my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck and was holding on tight. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pull your hair." I said while I looked down at my hands that had found their way back into my lap.

"Trust me, you didn't hurt me at all. If you haven't noticed, I'm doing the same thing to you too," he smiled. "Besides it would have been worth any pain to be able to feel your lips on mine like that!"

We just sat there, looking at each other, trying to calm our racing hearts. His direct gaze unnerved me a little and I looked away for a moment. Taking a deep breath, I looked back up into his eyes and then reached up to smooth the hair back behind his ear. I then put my hand on his cheek and he turned and kissed my palm. I felt a bolt of desire hit my center.

I was starting to lean into him again, when I felt a nudge on my leg. I tore my gaze from his and saw that Samson, Delilah, and Gracie were standing there, looking quizzically at us. I couldn't help but laugh at the comical looks they were wearing. It didn't take long before Edward joined me. The dogs gave us an offended look and went over to the door, wanting to be let out. I looked at my watch and realized that we had been sitting here for several minutes and we needed to get a move on.

Twisting my face back to him I said, "Hey, I really need to head on to the house to feed the horses for the night."

"Okay, let's go then. We can let the dogs go out first," he said as he walked over to open the door for them.

"So, um, how many horses do you have?" he questioned.

"Well, I have two of them. Their names are Luna and River. Luna is my mare. She is a Leopard Appaloosa. River is the stallion I have. He's an Appaloosa too. I'm trying to decide if I want to breed them or not. I'm sort of looking forward to having a filly or colt from them."

"That's cool. Do you think that I could maybe ride with you sometimes? I used to ride as a kid and I think it'd be fun to go again."

"Sure you can. We can load them up in the trailer and go trail riding up in the foothills once you're comfortable with riding again. Delilah enjoys going too. I go slow so as not to tire her out too much. Do you think that Samson would like to walk the trails with us?" I gushed.

I tend to get excited when I think about riding my horses. I haven't really had anyone to ride with other than Gracie and I was looking forward to having him go with me.

"I don't know about Samson. Do you think he would be okay around the horses? I haven't had him around any before and I would hate for him to spook River or Luna."

"Well, I guess when we head to the house, here in a minute, we can introduce him to the horses and see how he does. Maybe having Delilah there will help him too. I can take her over to the horses first and rub her in their smell and then let him smell it on her. Do you see where I'm going with this?" I asked him

"I think I'm following you," he said. "But for now I think we need to concentrate on actually getting to your place first." He came over and threaded his fingers with mine and pulled me out the door towards the truck.

He led me over to the passenger side and opened the back door for me to be able to put Gracie back in her seat. After she was situated, he opened my door for me as well. As I was getting ready to climb in, he pulled me back and turned me face him. I looked up at him wondering what he was doing. He reached out and wrapped me in his arms and gave me a hug while he kissed the top of my head. I snuggled into his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist, breathing in his scent. I think that I've gone to heaven until he leaned back a little.

I looked up and he leaned in to give me a chaste kiss. Just a quick brushing of our lips. It was something that made me crave more. While I was in an Edward induced daze, he lifted me gently and sat me on the truck seat. He stepped closer to me and brushed his mouth over mine once again. This time I felt his tongue brush lightly against my lower lip seeking entrance to my mouth. I readily opened up enough for him to slip inside. I could taste his essence mixed with the sharp bite of nicotine from his last smoke lingering on his tongue. I slipped one hand under the edge of his shirt and smoothed over his back as the other went up to tangle in his hair. I slowly realized that he had a hand wrapped in my hair and the other was resting on my hip. As we finally came up for air, I realized that I had totally forgotten that Gracie was in the truck with me and I looked quickly back at her to see that she wasn't even paying us any attention. She was to busy looking at a book that she held in her lap. I can see that both of us are breathing quickly as he leaned back down and rested his forehead on mine. It takes a few minutes to get our breathing back under control, but after a bit we were ready to go.

He called the dogs over and got them in the truck while I just sat there contemplating everything that has happened to me today. As he hopped in the driver's seat, he reached over with a smile and pulls me towards him while holding my hand. For some reason I can't seem to keep a grin off of my face and I decided that I really don't care.

A/N Hope you guys enjoyed reading! I spent a two hour car ride working on this today :)


	5. Chapter 5

Stephanie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I am just playing with her characters.

Chapter 5

Feeling Bella's mouth under mine has gotten me seriously turned on. I held her slightly away from my hard on as I gave her a hug. I hadn't meant to start kissing her again. I just couldn't seem to resist her luscious lips. That bottom lip of hers just begs me to suck on it. Who am I to turn it down? I leaned down and sucked that plump lip into my mouth. It took everything in me not to hold her tight to me while grind on her. I slipped my tongue into her mouth and growled deep in my chest when she shyly wrapped her tongue around mine. She tasted like my personal ambrosia. It was a combination of her own sweet taste, mixed with the tang of her last smoke. I can't get enough. I finally pried myself away from her mouth so that I could get the dogs loaded up and we could go.

I lit up a smoke as I drove the short distance to her house. I couldn't help thinking about how she felt in my arms earlier today at the furniture store. I couldn't get over how right it felt to hold her. I also couldn't get over how it felt to hold her little girl to my chest while she was sleeping. I never thought I would get that fuzzy feeling in my chest over a kid, but I couldn't seem to help it. When she snuggled into me and buried her little nose in my neck, I got a case of the warm fuzzies. I still wasn't sure if I liked that fact or not! It's like I had been waiting my entire life to find this woman and now that I had, I just wanted to hold on to her as long as I could.

I pulled us up to her house and we got out. Bella got Gracie free from her car seat and let her down to the ground. After opening the back door for the dogs, Delilah went over to the horse paddock to visit with Luna. I decided to keep Samson with me at first, not knowing how he would react to his first greeting from a horse. "Hey Bella , do you think that it'll be okay to take him over to Luna? I want to do this the right way."

"I think that's a good idea. Let me go get Luna over to the fence and then you can bring him over," she said and then went over to the paddock fence.

She called to Luna and when the mare came over she grabbed her halter to attach a lead rope.

"Okay you can bring him over now," she said.

I led Samson over to the fence where she was standing. She tied Luna's lead rope to the fence post and then called Delilah over to her and the rubbed Luna with her hands before she rubbed her hands over Delilah. Samson could smell Luna's scent mixed with Delilah's and he curiously smelled Delilah over. Then, I led him closer to the horse. After only a few timid greetings, It didn't take him long before he was friends with Luna. I took him off his leash so that he could go with Delilah while Bella, Gracie, and I were working in the barn.

Helping out in the barn was something that I found I enjoyed. Bella introduced me to Luna and River. I admit, I fell in love with River. He seemed to take to me as well and I can't wait to be able to take him riding one day.

I couldn't seem to keep my eyes off of Bella 's body as she gracefully moved to fill up the food bins or when she would bend over as she mucked out Luna's stall. She showed me the easiest way to muck out a stall and I soon got to work on River's stall. I am so amazed at how much Gracie can do for the horses. After Bella measured their feed out into buckets, Gracie grabbed one to bring back over and she carried it over to Luna's stall. I watched in wonder as Bella swung Gracie onto Luna's back and left her there. I looked at Bella in question and she told me about the routine that she and Gracie had for feeding and that Gracie's reward for being good was to get to sit on Luna while Bella cleaned the stall. I was amazed at how calm Gracie was around the horses, well, now that I think about it, around all of the animals. Even though I knew that she would be fine up there, I couldn't help but feel a little nervous about it. She looked so small sitting on Luna's bare back. Watching quietly, I saw how Bella was constantly looking after her and I felt better about it.

After we had finished mucking out the stalls and feeding the horses we were ready to head back to the shop and start painting. We all piled in the truck and this time Bella drove us. We were almost to the shop when Bella mentioned that she was getting hungry. I felt bad for not thinking of taking them to eat earlier and asked her if she would like to go grab something to eat.

"Yeah, that would be great! I didn't realize how hungry I was until now. Do you mind if we go to the diner?" she asked. "I really want some of their marinated chicken this evening and Gracie loves their chicken nuggets." she said

"Nah, I don't mind. But are you sure you want to be seen eating with me? Judging by the looks from last time I went in there you would think that I was the devil incarnate!" I laughed before lowering my voice, "Of course there was also the skanky waitress who waited on me the other day. Hopefully she's not working tonight though." I said quietly.

"Okay then, we'll go in there and just ignore everyone else!" she said. "I think I may know who you are talking about, in regards to the waitress. Her name was Lauren right?" she said as I nodded my head. "Yeah, Lauren and I don't get along very well. You are definitely right about the skank part. I swear most of the men around here's ridden that ride, whether they were single or not! What did she do to you?" she asked me.

"Well, I didn't give her a chance to really do anything. I just refused to look down her shirt when she bent over to put my plate on the table and I didn't take her up on her offer of "anything else" that she threw out." I told her.

I looked over at Bella as we pulled into the diner's parking lot. She shot me a smile and it was all I could do not to lean over and kiss her senseless. I figured I should restrain myself while she was driving anyway. I would hate to cause any accidents.

We both got out of the truck and once again, I wrestled with the belts on Gracie's car seat. Feeling victorious, I pulled her from the seat and met Bella in front of the truck. I automatically reached out for her hand. It had quickly become a habit with us. I reached out and opened the door to the diner and held it while she and Gracie walked in. She started leading me to a booth in the back of the room. I sat down across from her and Gracie and reached for her hand once again. We sat there talking about our day and painting this evening. Gracie was excited that she was going to be able to help and I was so caught up in talking to her and Bella that I didn't notice anyone coming up to the table.

"Hello, would you like to try one of our specials tonight?" I heard a voice ask.

When I looked up, it was to see Lauren standing there, looking me over again. She slowly licked her lips and smiled at me. I ignored her and turned back to Bella . "Bella?" I asked her while arching my eyebrow.

"Um, yeah, I would like the marinated chicken with green beans, mashed potatoes, and a Mt. Dew," she said to Lauren. "Gracie wants the chicken nuggets and fries, along with some chocolate milk."

"I would like the steak, medium, with fries and a sweet tea" I told her without even looking up at her.

I could feel Lauren's stare boring into the top of my head as she repeated the order back to me.

She then turned to Bella and said "Bella, honey, are you sure you don't want to get a salad? It might help you loose a few pounds of the excess weight that your carrying around." She said with an evil smirk on her lips.

I was livid! How dare she insult Bella! "I suggest you keep your advise to yourself! The last time I checked giving unneeded and unwanted advise was not part of waitressing duties!" I snapped at her.

I watched her face turn bright red as she stormed off to the kitchen. I looked over at Bella to apologize for her rudeness. I was glad to see the smile on Bella 's face. She didn't appear to take it to heart.

"You know that you didn't have to do that, right?" she asked.

"I know that I didn't have to, but I wanted to. She shouldn't have talked to you like that. It was unprofessional and uncalled for." I told her as I reached out and squeezed her arm lightly. I felt the need to stand up for her.

"Thanks Edward" she answered with a smile.

We wasted no time and quickly finished eating and then headed back to the shop. After getting the dogs situated and Gracie occupied with a coloring book, we began taping up the room so that we could start painting.

I pulled my hair back and put it in a pony tail. I looked over at Bella and noticed that she was putting her hair up into a loose bun on top of her head. With her hair pulled up like that you could really see the pink in it and I couldn't help but thinking once again about how she was so beautiful. When she turned away from me, I wanted to go over and nibble on the back of her neck. Her neck was all graceful lines and I could just imagine how the skin would feel against my lips.

Once we got everything taped up and ready, I pried the lid off of the can of paint. It looked very dark in the can and I briefly wondered if I was doing the right thing.

"It will look fine Edward," she said. "Just keep imagining how it will all look once we get it pulled together. It's going to be awesome!"

"Thanks! How did you know that I was second guessing myself there for a minute?" I asked her.

"I dunno, I could just tell that you were," she looked at me in contemplation. "It was almost like I could hear you worrying about in my head."

"Well, I'm glad you could! If left alone I probably would have over thought it and would still be here thinking about it when it's time to open tomorrow!" I told her.

"Let's get this paint on the walls then. No need to put it off any longer. Once you get started, you won't be able to leave it half finished. Then you won't have to worry about it not being done tomorrow." she said

Thinking over what she had said and agreeing with her I turned to Gracie and asked if she wanted to help stir the paint. She was delighted to help me out and had a big smile on her face as she concentrated on stirring carefully. Once we decided that it was mixed well, I poured paint into the two trays and we started on opposite sides of the room. We got into a good rhythm and soon we had finished half of the room. I looked around and was really happy so far with the results. I watched as Gracie was painting along the bottom of the wall. She had spatters of red paint on her clothes and I felt bad about it. I hoped that Bella wouldn't be to upset over it.

"This is really coming together. I can see the flash on the walls already!" I said with a laugh.

"See, I told you it would be okay!" she said back. "Hey, I need some more paint," she said while holding out the tray towards me. "Can you help me out here?"

I quickly filled her tray back up for her and topped mine off as well since I was already messing with the can. I was handing her the paint tray back when she reached out to grab it. She bumped it with her arm, causing some of it to spill out on my shirt. She started laughing so hard that I was beginning to wonder if she could breath. Her face had gotten red and she had tears in her eyes.

"So, you think this is funny do ya?" I asked with a arched eyebrow.

"How would you like it if it happened to you?" I asked with a mischievous smirk on my face as I started towards her carrying my tray of paint.

She started backing hastily away from me, though it did her no good. I stalked her across the floor and when I finally had her pinned against an unpainted wall I couldn't help but lean down and capture her mouth passionately with mine. It had been a couple of hours at least since I had last kissed her and I arbitrarily decided that we wouldn't go that long between kisses again.

When I finally released her mouth so that we both could get a breath, I saw that we had spilled some paint on her shirt too. I quickly looked down at my own shirt and saw that I was covered as well. Not liking how the sticky paint felt through my shirt, I reached behind my head and grabbed a handful of the material. I pulled it free from my body and wadded it up to wipe at the paint on my chest.

As I was wiping my chest off I heard her say "Oh, God, he's trying to kill me!" I sent a smug smirk her way and raised an eyebrow.

"Like what you see Bella?" I asked her quietly.

I watched her eyes trail over my chest from my neck to the jeans that slung low on my hips. She moved her eyes over my tattoos and back up my body while lingering on my pierced nipples. I felt her gaze as if she had reached out and touched me. I felt my self hardening just from her looking at me.

"If you keep staring at me like that, I'm not going to be held responsible for my actions." I told her as I walked over to her.

She jerked her eyes away from my chest and immediately started turning an enchanting shade of red.

"um, uh, I didn't mean to, uh to stare at you like that," she stammered out. She then started worrying at her plump bottom lip with her teeth.

"Momma! You have paint all on you! So does Edward!" Gracie said with glee as she came over to see what we were doing.

I was glad for the interruption because I knew that we needed to cool down a bit, especially with Gracie standing there looking at us.

"It was an accident Gracie, why don't you go on back over there and keep painting?" Bella said quickly before biting down on her lip again.

I reached out and gently pulled her lip out from between her straight teeth as she closed her eyes.

"Baby, don't do this to your lip." I leaned down and gently kissed it, "It would be a crime to harm this lovely thing. It should only be treated with the greatest of care." I said as I kissed my way from one corner of her mouth to the other.

"And what do you mean by "I'm trying to kill you?" I asked in a whisper, trying not to talk too loud in front of Gracie.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at me "What? What did you just say?" she asked quickly, "because I didn't say that out loud! I KNOW that I didn't say that out loud! How did you know what I said?"

I looked down at her upturned face. "What do you mean you didn't say that out loud? I swear that I heard you say "Oh God, he's trying to kill me". I was definitely confused now.

"Edward, I swear, I didn't say that out loud! I said it in my mind, to myself! How did you know that?" She demanded.

"What? Bella, I really don't know!" I didn't know what was going on. I ran my fingers through my hair and tugged on it.

"How can this be happening!" I thought looking over at Bella . She was gazing out the window.

"Well, I don't know how it could happen. Maybe you're like a mind reader?" she said as she glanced back over to me.

I stood there with a startled look on my face. "Um, Bella . . . why did you say that?" I asked.

"Well, you just asked me how this could be happening didn't you?" she replied.

"Bella , I didn't say that out loud. I promise!" I quickly informed her.

We stood there staring at each other, puzzling over how we could hear the other's thoughts.

"I wonder if it's all thoughts or just random ones?" I thought to myself.

"Well, I just heard that, if it helps" she thought back while walking over to stand in front of me.

I reached out and wrapped her in my arms and held her as close to me as I could get her.

"Bella , do you think this is as weird as I do? I mean, I feel like I'm going crazy or something here. Can you imagine what people will think if they find out?" I asked her.

"Edward, I really don't think that we should go around advertising the fact that we can hear each other's thoughts! The lovely people in this town would have us locked up for sure!" she said with a laugh. "But imagine the fun we could have!"

"I heard that Bella ! Imagine the fun we could have indeed!" I said with a smirk.

I pulled back and cradled her face in the palm of my hands. Staring down into the depths of her deep chocolate eyes, I found myself falling even harder for her. Leaning over, I gently nibbled her lips and brushed my tongue along the seam of her lush mouth before slipping inside to slowly caress her tongue with mine. I could feel the heat coiling low in my stomach from the desire that I had for this woman. She slid one of her little hands back into my hair while the other one fisted in center of my back. Breathing raggedly, I started placing small kisses and licks along her jawline to her ear. I sucked her earlobe in between my lips and licked it, causing goose bumps to spread out on her skin. I couldn't help but groan when she turned her mouth to my neck and nibbled her way to my ear. I knew we needed to stop, but I couldn't seem to tear myself away from the voluptuous form in my arms. Oh God, that feels so good, but we need to stop! I have to stop! This is not the right time or place for this! Step away from the lady! I told myself sternly. Slowly, I pulled back from her ministrations to my neck and jaw. It felt like I was being torn in two to leave the comfort of her arms.

"Bella " I started before she interrupted me.

"Edward, I know." was all she said.

We cast lingering looks at the other as we slowly made our way back to our respective sides of the room to finish painting. It would give us time to process what had just happened and try to figure out if we were going insane or not.

"We are not going insane Edward!" She thought to me with a scowl on her face.

I quickly agreed with her. This was definitely going to take some getting used to I discovered.

I cast looks over to watch Bella and Gracie while they were painting and felt a small tug on my heartstrings when Gracie said something to Bella that caused her to lean over and give her a hug. It wasn't long before I noticed that Gracie was yawning a lot and Bella took her to the bathroom to get cleaned up. When they came back, I noticed that she had on some pajamas. I guess Bella had grabbed her something when we had gone to feed the horses earlier, without me noticing. Gracie was about to climb up on the couch when she suddenly barreled over to me and wrapped her little arms around my leg. I put the paint and roller down before squatting down to be face level with her. She quickly wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a hug and whispered a good night before she planted a loud smacking kiss on my cheek. I looked up at Bella and saw her with a huge smile on her beautiful face and I sent her a grin while I wrapped my arms carefully around Gracie to return her hug. I pecked her cheek and told her goodnight and watched as she walked over to Delilah and Samson. She gave them hugs before she sat down between them. It was funny because she lay on top of them and wriggled her way between their big warm bodies. When she was comfortable, she leaned against Samson to watch us paint.

Turning back to the wall before me, I continued to paint. It didn't take to long before we found ourselves finishing up. Looking around the room, I was glad that she had talked me into painting and going for such a bold color for the walls. "Your welcome" I heard from her thought running through my mind.

I quickly turned to catch a smug smile gracing her lips as she continued painting the last of her wall.

We moved to the middle of the room to look around at our paint job. I was grinning happily when she turned to face me.

"I think that this is going to really look great. I'll come back in the morning and get the furniture moved around. After that, I'll just have to get some of the flash up on the walls." I told her. "I forgot about a table to put out here for the photo albums, but I can just keep them on the counter for now." I thought to myself.

"I actually have an old coffee table that would work well in here, if you're interested" she said with a grin. "It's a black one that's made of wood. It has a distressed appearance to it though. You can come by in the morning and check it out if you want to."

"You know, this mind reading thing is something I could get used to," I told her. "I would love to come over and look at it. What time is good for you?"

"Well, I'm normally up fairly early in the mornings. I feed the horses around 8 and then take Gracie to school. I'm back home by quarter til nine and by the time I finish up mucking stalls and everything it's around 10. You could come by any time really, I'll be around the barn or the house. Why don't we exchange numbers and you can just give me a call when you come." She said as she handed me her iPhone. I smiled when I saw it as I pulled my own iPhone out of my pocket and passed it over to her. I quickly added my contact information and selected a ringtone before handing it back to her. I watched her fiddle around with it for a minute before she held it up and snapped a picture of me.

I huffed playfully at her and brought up the camera on my phone.

"Turn about is fair play" I thought to her with a grin.

She tried to dodge the camera so I chased her around the room. Quickly sliding the phone in my back pocket, I caught her and gently threw her down on the couch. Sitting on top of her thighs, I started tickling her until she finally gave in. When I let her up she finally agreed to let me take her picture, but insisted that Delilah and Gracie be in it also. I told her that was fine, but when we looked over, we realized that Gracie was sound asleep tucked safely between Samson and Delilah. I scowled at her playfully until she finally relented and let me take the picture of her. It only took me a few seconds to save it to her contact information and I put my phone away while she took pictures of Gracie and the dogs.

"Well, it's getting kind of late and I know you've got to get up early in the morning. I'm sorry that I kept you out so long. Forgive me?" I said while giving her my best puppy dog eyes.

"That's not playing fair with the whole sad eye thing!" she told me "but, yeah, I forgive you."

"Thanks Bella ! I really do feel bad keeping you and Gracie here this late." I had looked quickly at my watch and saw that it was almost midnight and then I felt even worse as I realized that Gracie probably should have been in the bed long ago.

"Edward, I really didn't mind! I mean it. Please believe me," she said

"and besides I like spending time with him. Wonder if he want's some help tomorrow?" she questioned herself.

"Ok, I believe you." I told her.

"Oh, and by the way, I really like spending time with you too. I would also appreciate any help you would like to give. I could use your help with the opening, you know, help answering questions or booking appointments. That type of thing." I asked her.

"Ok. I think that I can handle that. I really hope that you have a good turn out tomorrow night" she said as she gathered up Delilah's leash and her smokes. "What are the hours that you'll be open?"

"I'll be opening at 2:00 and will probably stay open until around 10:00. Those will be my normal hours anyway. I can be flexible with them if I need to, since it's just me working here." I told her.

Walking over to the corner that Gracie and the dogs were tucked into, I carefully lifted Gracie up without waking her. I smiled as she tucked her nose into my neck and mumbled Samson's name.

I led Bella and the dogs to the door as I turned out the lights of the shop. After getting the door locked we started walking over to her truck. Carefully I placed Gracie into her car seat and buckled her in. Once I had finished, I gently closed the door before I reached out and opened the door for Bella . Before she could climb in I turned to pick her up in my arms.

She gasped out a quick "EDWARD!" before I sat her on the seat.

"What? It gives me better working room to do this," I whispered before I covered her mouth with my own.

She quickly licked at my lips, begging for entrance. I slowly parted my lips and felt her velvet tongue caress my own. Our hands were roaming constantly and I found that I'd pushed the bottom of her shirt out of the way so that I could feel the silky skin on her back. I was lost in that feeling until I felt her fingernails drag over my sensitive nipples. I growled at her before attacking her neck with my lips. I made my way down to the hollow of her throat before sucking lightly on the sensitive flesh. She moaned in return and wrapped her hands in my hair before pulling me back up to her mouth. I pulled her closer to the edge of the seat before wrapping her legs around my waist and grinding myself into her heat. We both moaned from the sensation, so I did it again, searching for some kind of friction to help ease the throbbing pain trapped in my jeans. I slowed the hungry kisses down to soft pecks across her lips, up to her eyes and ended with one on her forehead.

"Bella ," I started out huskily "I want you so bad right now, but I know that we need to wait. You're going to have to help me resist this, because I can't do it on my own!"

She whimpered slightly from the loss of contact between our overheated bodies. Taking a deep breath, she gave me a tight hug and a quick peck on the lips before sliding back into the truck.

"Ok Edward," she said.

I heaved a sigh in relief and reached in my pocket for a smoke. She was also getting one out of her box so I reached over and lit it up for her. As I held the lighter up to the end of her cigarette, she reached out and caressed my hand with her own. As her smoke lit up she removed her hand and told me thank you. I watched her french manicured fingers as they held her cigarette and couldn't help but wish she was hold something else of mine in her hand. I pulled in a deep draw off of my smoke, wishing that it would calm down the monster in my pants. I knew that nothing but relief would make it go away for awhile.

I slowly backed away from the truck door and closed it for her. I then saw that Delilah was still beside the shop with Samson. I called her over and opened the back door so that she could jump in.

"Good girl Delilah!" I told her with a scratch behind her ear.

"I'll call you in the morning. Drive safe!" I told her as she cranked up her truck.

She nodded her agreement and pulled her truck out of the parking space and then out of the lot. As I watched her taillights disappearing in the distance I couldn't help but wish that I would get to hold her all night instead of sending her home alone.

I called Samson over and got him in the car before heading to the house to spend a lonely night alone. I walked out to the back porch to have another smoke before going to bed. I sat there looking at the moon when I heard "Good night Edward, sweet dreams!".

"Good night to you too Bella . I hope you have sweet dreams too." I thought back to her as I put my cigarette out.

I got Samson in the house and went to my bedroom. As I stripped off my clothes for a quick shower I couldn't help but think of the great day I'd had and about the amazing woman I had spent it with. I would be dreaming about Bella tonight. They were going to be sweet dreams indeed!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Driving away from Edward was the hardest thing that I've had to do in a long time. I wanted to turn my truck around and run back to him. I could feel the flush cover my cheeks as I once again pictured his bare chest. When he slowly pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his tattoos and pierced nipples I felt myself melting.

My greatest wish, at that moment, was to lean over and lick his skin, to feel the texture of it on my tongue. As my eyes followed his sculpted abs down to his low slung jeans I was very tempted to reach out and trace his happy trail to see if it really did lead to paradise. I was so totally absorbed in the sight of his well defined body that I didn't even notice him watching me. I couldn't help thinking that he was trying to kill me! When he called me on that I got the biggest shock of my life. He could actually hear what I had said in my MIND.

To say that we were a little freaked out is an understatement. After a bit we figured out that I could hear some of his thoughts too. We're just going to take it one day at a time, I guess.

I flicked the last of my smoke out of the window as I pulled up in front of my house. After letting Delilah out I quickly took Gracie into the house and got her into bed. I went back out and quickly checked on the horses before I walked slowly up the path towards the house. Walking up on the covered front porch I went inside and I flipped on the light as I passed through to the living room. Even thought I knew that I had to get up early I didn't feel like trying to sleep right now. I let myself out to the back deck through the patio door and took my place once again in the swing.

I stared up at the luminous night sky and thought _"goodnight Edward. Sweet dreams!"_.

I was a little surprised to hear his thought come back to me with "_Good night to you too Bella . I hope you have sweet dreams too." _

I felt my cheeks heat up from the blush that covered them again. I was just imagining him sprawled out in bed, nothing covering him but a sheet as I traced his tattoos lightly with my fingertips. Then, I would lean over and kiss his firm lips and . . . I have to stop this right now I told myself forcefully.

Now that I had gotten myself all worked up I was frustrated from not having any kind of immediate relief. I went in the house and after getting settled for the night, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I reached down to lightly touch myself. I felt the jolt of pleasure course through me as I imagined that it was Edward's hands touching me and not my own. It didn't take me long at all to reach my peak as I called out his name in pleasure.

I lay there, trying to come down from the high I had reached when I heard his thoughts clearly in my mind. "_Bella ! . . Ung, . . baby, . . so good!"_ It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that he just had happy time to the thoughts of me. At first it made me slightly uncomfortable, I mean if I could hear him, did that mean that he had heard me, too? Oh sweet magical monkeys! What am I going to do when I see him in the morning? This is going to be so embarrassing!

Laying there with those thoughts running through my mind, I didn't think that I was ever going to get to sleep. I tossed and turned endlessly, trying to figure out what I would say or do when he showed up in the morning. After looking over at the clock I realized that it was after 1:30 in the morning and I felt no closer to going to sleep. I huffed under my breath and flung the covers back angrily. I slipped on my shorts and a tank top while grabbing my cigarettes from the nightstand. Walking to the patio doors I looked over my shoulder to see Delilah following me.

"Come on girl. Maybe some cool night air will clear my mind. " I told her.

I walked over to my favorite seat on the swing as I lit up a smoke. I leaned back against the cushions as I exhaled slowly. Looking up at the bright moon hanging lazily in the cool air, I pondered yet again the connection that I have with Edward. How in the world is it possible to even do what we can do. I reached up and took another draw off of my cigarette and embraced the heat sliding down into my lungs. I felt the calmness spreading through my nerves as the tension eased. Closing my eyes I came to the decision that whatever happens, happens. Who knew where this could lead us? After making peace with my overactive mind, I put out my cigarette and stood up.

"Come on Delilah, you ready to go to bed girl?" I said as I led her back in the house and to the bedroom.

I crawled back in the bed and looked at the clock to see it was now 2:00 in the morning. I curled up with my pillow and let out a big yawn.

"G'Nite Delilah" I whispered as my eyes drifted closed.

All to soon I was awakened by a wet nose against my hand. Turning over I saw Delilah waiting for me to get up to let her out. I crawled out of bed and glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 8. I had to hurry if I was going to get Gracie to preschool and the horses fed and the stalls mucked before Edward got here. I quickly dressed in a pair of old Levi's and a tee shirt to work in. I let Delilah out and went to get my boots on. Once I was ready, I went in to wake Gracie up. She grumbled a bit before finally joining me in the land of the living. I found her some clothes and got her ready to go before going to the kitchen. I grabbed a quick turkey and provolone cheese sandwich for each of us to eat for a quick breakfast. After we finished up, I took Gracie to her preschool and came back home to quickly change into some cut-off shorts and a spaghetti strapped tank top.

I walked down the path to the barn and it wasn't long before I pulled the doors open to go in. I heard the welcoming nickers from Luna and River as I made my way over to Luna's stall. She looked over her stall door, wanting a scratch and a treat. "Sorry girl, no carrots this morning, I'm running a little late. I'll bring you some this evening, okay?" I told her. I went to the feed room and scooped up their feed for the morning and then made my way back to their stalls. I went into Luna's stall first and dumped her feed in the trough. Then I went over to River's stall and put his feed out for him. I quickly made my way over to the water hose and dragged it back over to fill their water buckets. While the buckets were filling I quickly brushed them down and waited for them to finish eating. After they were done I let them out to the paddock so that I could go muck out the stalls. I had finished Luna's stall and had completed about half of River's when I heard Delilah start barking. On my way out of the barn I lit up a cigarette before I started up the path. I had gotten about half way to the house when I saw Samson come running over to me.

"Hey Samson! How are you boy?" I asked him while scratching behind his ears. He gave a soft bark before heading over to see Delilah.

I watched them as they nuzzled each other and said their hellos. I stood there smiling when I heard a thought whisper through my mind "_god, she looks great this morning! I wonder if I can kiss her again?" _I turned to Edward with a big smile on my face. I walked over to where he was standing and reached out and grabbed his hand. He automatically twisted our fingers together and pulled me to him for a quick hug.

"Morning Bella. Did you sleep well?" he asked me with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Sure did Edward, how about yourself?" I asked as a light blush covered my face. I couldn't help but think about what I had done and what I had heard from him.

I was surprised to see his face turn a light pink when he replied that his night was fine. I decided not to call him on it and changed the subject.

"So, I'm almost finished in the barn. You can come on in if you want, or you can hang out here with the horses. Make yourself at home and I'll be done soon" I told him.

"Okay, I'm probably going to see if I can talk River into coming over by the fence to pet him some more. I'll be in in a few minutes though" he told me.

I looked up at him and saw his eyes fixed on the top of my shirt. I realized that the top of my butterfly could be seen at the edge of the shirt. I saw his fingers twitch a couple of times before he pulled his eyes away and looked up at me.

"Do you have any idea how tempting that little sliver of ink is?" he huskily said with a seductive glint in his green eyes.

"I'm, um, sorry?" I got out shakily. I took a deep breath and looked up into the depths of his green eyes. "Actually, I think I do" I told him as I reached out to lightly trace the ink peeking out from under the sleeves of his tee shirt. I watched my fingernails lightly move over his skin and thought "_I want to lick his ink, I want to taste his skin" _before blushing a bright red and turning away.

I heard him draw in a quick breath and felt his hands on my hips as he pulled me back into his chest. I could feel his fingers tracing the wing of my phoenix that peeked over my shirt.

"Bella , Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?" he asked in a gravelly voice as he pulled me back into his massive erection. I couldn't help but to moan lightly as I felt him against the small of my back. I wanted nothing more than to turn around and attack his body, but was afraid of how he would react.

I leaned back into him for a moment, savoring the feeling of him wrapped around me as I reached my hands up into his hair to pull his mouth closer to mine. I turned my head slightly and pressed my lips to his, enjoying the electricity that flowed from his body to mine. Turning around, I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on for dear life. It didn't take but a moment for him to lift me up so he could have easier access to my lips. I wasted no time in wrapping my legs around his waist and grinding down on him. We both moaned loudly at the wonderful sensations shooting through us. He slid his hands down to grab hold of my ass to hold me closer to him as he roughly ground his manhood into me. I was sinking into a lust filled fog and didn't mind at all. All I wanted was to feel him sinking into my body. I wanted him. Slowly, ever so slowly, I tried to pull myself back from the brink. I pulled my lips from his with a gasp as I realized that oxygen is necessary for breathing. I couldn't quite bear to remove my tingling lips from his skin so I grazed his jawline as I felt the rough stubble under my mouth. I reached my tongue out and licked lightly along his jaw and made my way to his ear. I nipped his ear before soothing it with my tongue. I shuddered as he ground against me again before he slowly slid me down his body until my feet were once again on the ground.

We stood there wrapped up in each others arms, as we tried to get control over our bodies. I slid my hand over his chest to feel his heart beating rapidly against it. I reached around me to grab his hand and placed it over my own heart.

"_only you can do this to me"_ I thought. I looked up and traced his face with my eyes as I heard back _"only you Bella ."_

We shared a sheepish grin before slowly pulling apart. I once again turned away from him saying "I'm going in to finish River's stall. Give me a minute to cool down and then you can join me whenever you want."

"Yeah, I think I need to calm down myself" he said as he looked down at the tent in his jeans. I couldn't help but to look also and let out a shuddering breath.

"Ok, going in the barn now. Maybe dunking my head in some cold water. Who knows, I might even jump in the water trough. " I said with a laugh.

As I walked away, I heard him mutter something about a cold shower. I couldn't help but smirk as I walked away from him. I knew he wanted me just as much as I wanted him and I was okay with that.

Walking into River's stall I finished mucking it out and then put down some fresh hay into it and Luna's stall. I had just put away the pitch fork when I felt eyes on me. I turned to see Edward leaning casually against the barn door, one foot crossed over the other. I noticed then that he had on these really hot, black Doc Martin boots, button fly Levi's that hugged his muscled thighs while riding low on his hips, and a hunter green pullover. He honestly looked good enough to eat! I shook those thoughts from my mind and tried to concentrate on why he was here.

"Let me wash up real quick and then we can go check out the table I was telling you about." I told him as I moved into the half bath off of tack room.

I washed my hands with the raspberry soap that I love and was soon ready to go. I walked out of the bathroom and found Edward out by the paddock watching the horses again. I walked up behind him and slipped my arms around his waist.

"Hey" I whispered as he brought his hands down to link with mine on his stomach.

"Hey yourself" he replied as he kept his eyes on the horses.

"We can go riding one day soon if you want to," I told him.

I could see the longing in his eyes as he watched River and Luna. I leaned around him to see the smile on his face at the thought of going riding.

"Bella, that would be so great!" he said me enthusiastically and I couldn't help but return his grin.

I tugged gently on his waist and told him to come with me to the house. "The table is in the spare bedroom." I said as we walked up the path to the house. "I really do think it will work for the shop, but don't feel like you have to take it if you don't like it." I told him.

Soon we were up on the porch and I led him in the house and through the living room. I noticed him looking around and smiled.

"It's home" I said with a shrug. "I designed it myself and then had it built when I found this property."

I led him down the hallway to the first bedroom on the right. Opening the door I showed him the table. It was black wood with a small glass inset that was about a foot wide and it ran the length of the table. When you looked down at the glass you could see the bottom shelf of the coffee table through it. The edge had a slight lip that was rounded off so that there were no sharp edges on it.

"So, what do you think?" I asked him "like I said before, don't think that you have to take it if you don't like it. You won't hurt my feelings either way."

"Actually, I think this will be perfect. It's the right height for the couch and I think it will go well with the room," he said as he turned to me. "How much do you want for it?"

"I didn't mean to sell it to you Edward," I told him a little exasperated. "If you like it then you can have it."

"I can't just take it Bella. You've done so much for me, let me do something to repay you!" he pleaded.

"You have already promised to give me a tattoo when I figure out what it is that I want, that's payment enough." I said as I shrugged my shoulders at him again.

"Fine then, if you insist! But, I'm also going to take you out to dinner one night, my treat, and you have to agree," he said.

"Ok, as long as I choose where we go," I counter offered.

"Nope, I get to choose and you have to accept!" he said with a devious smirk on his full lips.

"Ugh! You aren't going to let this go are you?" I said as I crossed my arms with a huff.

"No, I'm not! Not until you agree with me! I can be very stubborn and I'll stand here all day until you agree with me! Now, wouldn't it be a shame if I missed my own open house tonight because you were being stubborn?" he retorted with a sly smile.

I breathed out a huge sigh as I looked over at him, "fine then, I agree to go to dinner with you, to somewhere of your choice, without complaining." I told him and then muttered "well too much anyway."

He laughed at me and then leaned over to seal the deal with a quick kiss. I was getting ready to nibble on his bottom lip when he pulled back with a smirk.

"I knew you'd agree with me eventually!" he said.

I then wondered what I had gotten myself into. For some reason, I really couldn't bring myself to care too much about it. I was happy and that was all I was focusing on right now.

"So, you wanna load this up in my truck or in your car?" I asked him

"I don't think that it will fit in my car, to be honest with you." he said while looking over the table.

"Okay, we can load it on my truck and I will bring it when I come in later. I can come a little early so that we can get it in there and all" I told him.

"Sounds like a plan to me," he replied with a grin. "So, what time is a little early?" he asked then.

"Well, it's going on 11:30 now," I said looking at my watch, "so why don't we say by quarter to one? That will give me time to get cleaned up and ready. Is there any particular type of clothes that you would like me to wear? I mean, do I need to dress up or in a certain color, or what?"

"Nah, just some jeans and maybe a pullover or button up shirt. Nothing to crazy. I'm gonna wear this," he said gesturing to his clothes.

"Okay, I think I can handle that," I told him with a small smile.

"Oh, is Samson going to be there? If he is, can I bring Delilah with me? I really don't leave her home alone much if I can help it." I told him

"Yeah, Samson is gonna be there so you can definitely bring Delilah. If people are to leery of them we can always put them into the back office, though I would rather that they stay up in the waiting area." he told me.

I was happy to hear that. I really didn't like having to leave Delilah anywhere alone. I knew that she would be fine, but I just liked having her around me. "Thanks Edward! I really appreciate you letting me bring her in!"

"Bella, I know how you feel about her. I feel the same way about Samson. That's why he's going to be there too. That's why he comes to work with me everyday and why I bring him with me everywhere. They're our best friends and deserve to be treated as such." he told me. "What time do you have to pick Gracie up from school? Will she be OK at the shop tonight? You won't have to stay the entire time if it becomes to much for her."

"I can either pick Gracie up on my way in to the shop or go back and pick her up later. I just have to be there by five at the latest. As for Delilah, that's exactly how I feel. I'm glad that you understand. Most people don't, ya know? All I ever hear from my parents and my old acquaintances is that she is just a dog and it won't hurt her to stay home alone. I think that, maybe, they're just kind of intimidated by her or something. I really don't know and don't really care." I told him.

After looking at his watch again he saw that it was nearing 11:45. "Why don't we go ahead and get this table loaded and then you'll have plenty of time to get ready. I'm really happy that you're going to help me this evening. Thanks again for that," he told me as he bent over the table.

I agreed to help him get the table out of the spare room and loaded on my truck. I watched as he leaned over to grab the front edge of the table and lifted. I quickly ran around him to get the other side before he hurt himself. We quickly lifted the table between us and soon had it loaded securely on the back of the truck.

I turned to Edward, intent on telling him good bye and decided that it was my turn to surprise him. I quickly reached up to twine my fingers through his long hair and pulled his mouth to mine for a sweet kiss. I didn't want to get to carried away, as we were quickly running out of time. I just wanted to give him a proper goodbye. "_heaven help me but he tastes so good!"_ I thought and then heard his reply _"So do you baby, so do you!_"

I took that as my cue to back away before we got out of control again. I slowly slid my hands from his hair to his shoulder, then down his well defined chest. I could feel all of the dips and valleys that I was dying to explore. I softened the kiss and took it to small quick presses of our lips together. I finally managed to pull away from him with a hum of pleasure.

I focused slowly on him again and realized that he was just as affected as I was by that kiss. I couldn't help the small smirk that appeared on my lips as I saw the look on his face. I pressed one last kiss to him before stepping completely away from his tempting body.

"You should get going, we don't want you to be late to your own opening now, do we?" I teased him.

"Tease!" he told me with a gruff, desire laden voice. "I'll see you there in a bit then, okay?"

I walked him back over to his car and watched as he climbed in. He looked over for Samson and noticed him laying with Delilah on the front porch, his head resting on her back.

"I really hate to make him move. He seems to have become attached to Delilah very quickly." He told me as he turned his gaze back on me. "It's kind of how I've become attached to her owner very quickly," he whispered to me.

"How about you leave him here with Delilah because she's become attached to him also. Kinda how I seem to have become attached to his owner, too" I whispered back shyly. "It would be no problem to have him here and I can bring him to the shop when we come in later."

"Alright, He can stay I guess." he said with a heavy sigh. "Look at y'all, tempting Samson away from me! I think that was your whole plan, wasn't it, to get him away from me, huh?" he joked with me.

"Damn straight!" I joked back with him.

I stood up on the running board of his SUV to lean in the window for one more kiss before he had to go. I quickly licked his lip before backing away as he growled at me. I was growing to really like the sound of that low growl coming from deep in his chest. I grinned wickedly up at him as I stepped down off of the running board.

_"You're gonna pay for that later!"_ I heard from him in my thoughts. I just cocked an eyebrow at him as I stepped further from the car and motioned for him to go.

Laughing lightly as he backed the car up, he tossed me a wink before heading down the drive. After watching him leave I turned to the dogs to see them still spread out on the porch. I called them in the house so that I could get ready to go to the shop.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I went to my closet to find something suitable to wear to a grand opening of a tattoo shop. I was happy when I found out that Edward wasn't dressing up. I was most comfortable is my Levi's and tee shirts. I looked around and found a pair of dark blue button fly, boot cut jeans. I laid those on the bed as I looked for a shirt that would go with them. I flipped through the racks and found a red, short sleeved, button up that I really liked. After putting the shirt on the bed with the jeans I went and took a quick shower and washed my hair. I quickly shaved and rinsed off before pulling on pair of red lace boy short underwear and a red lace bra. I admit, I normally don't wear lace but I thought that I would splurge today. _"I mean who knows who might get a peek at them?"_ I thought to myself with a little smirk.

Suddenly I heard Edward 's voice cut across my thoughts "_a peek at what Bella?"_ I felt the blush immediately rise across my face as I thought back to him _"I'm not telling, Edward!" _I couldn't believe that he had heard that. I knew that we could hear each other's thoughts, but it was hard to remember that sometimes because it was so new to me.

Walking back into the bedroom, I grabbed my jeans and shirt and put them on. The jeans were a little snug, but not terribly tight. The blouse fit well also. I finished buttoning up the majority of the buttons quickly. I couldn't stand it buttoned up all the way, so I left the top three buttons undone. I moved to the closet and got my boots out and slid them on. Looking down at myself, I figured that I was as ready as I was going to get.

I went back into the bathroom to comb my hair. It didn't take long to finish up there because I left it hanging down my back in gentle waves. I'd grabbed a hair band to take with me in case I needed it later. After brushing my teeth and putting on a touch of lipstick I was ready to go.

Delilah and Samson were sprawled out in the floor by my bed when I came back out of the bathroom.

"Come on guys, it's time to go!" I told them.

I went through the house and made sure that I had everything that I thought that I might need for the night. I got a gallon sized zip bag and put some of Delilah's food in it. Then, I packed a couple of bowls for the food and water. I grabbed another pack of smokes from the freezer and put them into my backpack, along with my MacBook and power cord for it. I went and packed Gracie a couple changes of clothes because you never know when an accident might happen. I also packed her pajamas and her sleeping bag. I figured that if she got too tired, then she could cuddle up with Samson and Delilah again and go to sleep. Casting a quick look around the room, I saw her portable DVD player and grabbed that along with a few of her favorite movies. I don't know how many times she had watched Ice Age, Happy Feet and The Lion King and still hadn't gotten tired of them. I also made sure that I grabbed her art set and drawing pad. As I stuffed the last of the items into her bag I hoped that I had enough things to keep her occupied tonight. I walked out of her room, looking around one last time, and I turned on the lamp that was on the end table near the couch. I led the dogs from the house and made my way over to the truck. After loading the bags and dogs and getting them situated, I climbed up into the truck. I lit up a cigarette as I started down the drive.

It didn't take long to reach the shop and as I pulled up Edward was coming out the door. He walked over and opened my door for me. He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss before grabbing my hand to help me out. Reaching back, he opened the door and let the dogs get out. Samson and Delilah walked over to the door of the shop and waited for us to get there.

"So, how does it look?" I asked him before he opened the door.

"It's great. I'm really happy with the color that the walls turned out after they dried." he said as he opened the door.

He ushered us in and I looked around to see for myself. It really looked great. The black furniture stood out nicely against the red walls. I looked up and saw that he had started to hang the flash on the walls. He looked at me questioningly to see what I thought about it.

"It looks so good Edward. It's like I had pictured it. How many more sheets of flash do you have to hang?" I asked as I turned to face him.

"I'm almost done actually. I've just got a few more. After we get the table in I can put my photo albums out and I'll be finished." he said.

"Well, come on then, let's go get it." I told him while I pulled on his hand to get him moving towards the door.

Edward led me out to the truck and pulled the tailgate down. I stepped to the side to give him room to grab the table. The muscles in his arms contracted and released as he pulled on the table and lifted it. I moved to grab the end so that we could maneuver it better. After a few quick steps we had placed the table in front of the couch. I sat down and watched as Edward went over and got his albums to put out. I picked up the one nearest me and flipped it open to look at it.

_"These are really good" _I thought.

"I'm glad you like them," he told me.

I jerked my gaze up to meet his as I smiled brightly at him. "You're an amazing artist! Some of these look like pictures and not ink. I don't know how you can do it, but I'm glad that you can. I'm really looking forward to getting a tattoo from you!"

A slow smile lit up his face as he said "Well, I have to admit that I'm looking forward to it too."

"When I figure out what I want, you'll be the first to know." I told him and he let me know that he couldn't wait.

I asked him about some of the flash that was on the walls and he explained that he had ordered them from a supply company that specialized in tattooing. "My original designs are in one of the albums on the table. I can also do a custom piece for someone too. I prefer doing those anyway. It has more meaning, I think, than picking out a random piece of flash off of the wall," he said as he turned to me again.

"I can also design something for you, if you give me some ideas what you may be looking to incorporate into the tat. Just let me know if you want my help or ideas." he offered with a smile.

I have to admit, that I'm glad he offered. I have a vague sense of what I want, but I'm not sure how to pull it all together into a single form.

"Why don't I get some ideas together of some of the things that I would like in it, and then I will give you what I have and maybe you can help me get it into a cohesive design," I told him.

"That'll be fine, I'm glad to help out anyway I can," Edward told me.

Looking over the room again I noticed the counter space in the far left corner that had an appointment book and a cash register set up on it. There was also a new iMac computer set up on the desktop. I could feel my fingers itch to go over and play with it. I had been looking at them online but hadn't had a chance to get to an Apple store to try one out yet.

"You have one of the new iMac desktops! Do you mind if I play with it a little?" I asked as I walked over to look at it. "I've been dying to try one out but haven't had a chance to yet."

"I don't mind at all. Why don't you come on back here and let me show you how to set up appointments in iCalendar. I have the paper copy here for quick notes, but I have iCalendar set up to sync with my iPhone so that I can keep up to date with everything." he said as he walked me behind the counter.

It was a bit of a tight fit to get both of us back there and Edward ended up standing right behind me so that we could both easily see the screen. He walked me through setting up appointments and explained to me about how much time to schedule for each one. Basically, it ended up being an hour and fifteen minutes each for the small designs, two and a half hours for the medium designs and I was to ask him about the large ones because it would all depend on the customer's preference on whether they were going to sit for the whole thing or come in to have it done in multiple sessions. I looked fairly simple to work out. I told him that I would be able to handle it.

We were still standing facing the computer and I felt him move closer to me. Leaning my head back against his chest, I looked up to watch him and saw him move to place a gentle kiss on my neck. I moved my head to give him more room and he trailed soft kisses up and down my neck and shoulder. He finally settled on my earlobe and when he bit down on it with a low moan I felt myself get wet. His hands were slowly traveling up and down my sides with soft touches. I felt his fingertips gently graze the sides of my breasts and let out a whimper of desire while reaching up to grab hold of his hair to keep his mouth near me.

He turned me around and I heard the appointment book hit the floor as he pushed it out of the way. He reached out, grabbing me by the ass, and lifted me up and set me on the counter while his mouth attacked mine. He shoved his hands into my back pockets to pull me against him. I found myself once again wrapping my legs around his waist. I used them to pull him closer to me and when I felt his manhood hit that perfect spot I gasped and moved against him.

This was no tentative brushing of lips together. This was a full on attack of his mouth against mine. Lips molded together, our tongues battled for dominance. I willingly submitted and his tongue raced into my mouth, twisting around mine and pulling it into his own mouth. He suckled on it a bit before pushing his way into my mouth once more. I grabbed his tongue and returned the favor. I could feel the rumble in his chest as he hummed in pleasure while grinding against me.

I was simply astounded at the amount of feeling that filled me. It only took one brush of his lips and I forgot about where I was or what I was doing. Trying to rein myself back in was akin to pulling splinters out from under my nails. It was really that painful for me to let him go. I wanted to remain in his arms forever. Unfortunately, Delilah wasn't as happy with that thought as I was because she barked at us, trying to get our attention.

"Delilah, hush now girl," I told her sternly. She let out a whine so I turned to look at her and noticed that there was a new car in the parking lot.

"Oh, I see, good girl Delilah! Edward, there's someone out there. Looks like you may have your first visitor for the evening!" I told him as I gently pushed on him so that I could get down from the counter. He saw what I was doing and stepped back up between my legs to stop me.

"Bella , I didn't get a chance earlier to tell you how beautiful you are today. I also wanted to thank you for all of your help getting everything ready here. I don't think I would've gotten everything done without you," he told me quietly.

"I'm sure you would have figured something out, but I really am happy to help you." I replied as I looked out the front window again. "But, you really need to let me down off of this counter before whoever is out there comes in here!" I told him as I once again attempted to get down off of the counter.

"Fine then, I'll let you down, but think about this . . . we will be finishing this talk later," he said with a smirk as he lifted me easily down from the counter.

I quickly brushed past him and went around to pick up the appointment book from where it had landed in the floor. As I placed it back on the counter, the front door opened and the first visitor came in. I called Samson and Delilah over and told them to lay in front of the counter. I didn't want them to scare off any potential customer's and this way I could keep an eye on them easily.

Edward greeted the visitor and they settled into talking. There were several more visitors that came in before it was time for me to get Gracie. I walked over to Edward and waited patiently for him to finish what he was saying to the customer he was talking with. Once he finished he turned to me and I let him know that I was going to go get Gracie, but that I was going to leave Delilah here with Samson. He told me that it was fine and that he would see me soon. Before he had a chance to say anything else, there was someone else that walked up wanting to talk to him. I just nodded my head before leaving the shop.

I drove to the school and walked quickly up the steps. I was anxious to get back to the shop with Edward . I was greeted at the door with a chorus of hello's from all of the kids and teachers. It was nice to be greeted like that everyday. I looked over to see Alice staring at me. She hadn't been here this morning when I dropped Gracie off and I could see the questions in her eyes. I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and walked over to talk to her.

"Hi Alice! How are you today? Did Gracie have a good day?" I asked her, not really expecting to get away with making small talk.

"Um, Bella , you know that I want to talk about the hunk that you and Miss. Gracie were spotted having supper with last night at the diner, right? I mean. . . you really gotta give me something here! Everyone keeps asking me about it because they know that we're friends, but I have nothing to tell!" she told me with a pout.

"Alice! Calm down. The "hunk" you are referring to is Edward Cullen. He's opening the new tattoo shop in town. I ran into him at the pet store the other day and we got to talking . . . and next thing I know, Gracie and I are spending the day with him and his dog Samson. Yeah, I just. . . Alice, I really like him. I mean I really, really like him. He seems to like me just as much and he's great with Gracie and Delilah. Not to mention that Samson is an American Mastiff too! Can you believe that? We have the same kind of dogs?" I told her quickly before lowering my voice to whisper the next part. "We went to eat at the diner last night and Lauren was being her normal bitchy self and he told her off, Alice! I couldn't believe it! It just made me . . . I dunno how to describe it." I said as I finally wound down.

"Bella , I'm so happy that you met someone that you like this much. Just . . . please be careful. I would hate to see you and Gracie get hurt," she replied quietly.

"I know Alice. Thanks for not judging him and me. Why don't you come by open house tonight? I'll be there helping him out. That's why I was late getting here today. We were getting the shop ready. You can meet Edward for yourself. Who knows, you might actually want to get a tattoo now!" I teased her quietly.

"Fine, I'll come over after closing up the center. I doubt that I'll ever want to get a tattoo though," she said as she laughed at me. "So, what's Gracie supposed to do while you're helping out Edward?"

"Well, I brought some movies and coloring books and pajamas and stuff. She should be fine." I said to her.

"How about if she spends the night with me? You know I don't mind and that way she won't have to be bored staying at the shop all night and I can bring her home tomorrow. I've missed our camp overs!" She told me with a smile.

"Tell ya what, how about we see how she's feeling when you get there?" I told her with a shrug. "I'm open to the suggestion though," I said quietly.

"OK, now we have a plan!" she said. "Why don't you go get Gracie and I'll get her things out of her cubby for you."

"Thanks Alice! I really appreciate everything that you do for me!" I told her before moving off to find my daughter.

I pried her away from her friends and let her know that we were going to the shop with Edward . She was very excited to go visit with him and Samson. She gave Alice a hug before we left. We chatted in the truck about her day and she was bouncing in her seat by the time we made it back to the shop. There were several cars in the lot when we pulled in and I hoped that everything was going well.

After parking and getting Gracie out of the truck, I led her over to the door of the shop. We walked in and several people turned to look at us. Some were a little confused to see a child coming in there, but I ignored them. When Gracie spotted Edward , she took off running over to him and crashed into his legs. He looked a little startled from the impact, but kept up his conversation with a customer. He just scooped Gracie up into his arms and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. He returned her kiss before settling her on his hip. When the customer was finished, he turned to look at her. I could see her laughing and then squealing in delight as he tickled her sides lightly. She started to squirm a little so he sat her down and watched as she attacked Samson and Delilah with hugs and kisses. He finally looked over at me behind the counter and sent me a heart melting smile.

I returned his smile while sending him a thought _"How are things going? I hope that you don't mind that Gracie just tried to take you out!"_

He sent me a thought while walking around the room towards another customer, _"Things are going great here and Gracie is fine. I admit it did startle me a little, just because I wasn't expecting it. It's nice that she feels comfortable enough with me to give me a hug like that."_

I just smiled at him before helping someone book an appointment for the next week and then I got Gracie settled down in the corner with Samson and Delilah. She was happy to sit leaning against them while she watched the people moving around the room while she was coloring a picture in her coloring book. When she got hungry, I called in an order to the pizza joint in town and had them deliver us a pizza and drinks.

When it arrived, I took her into Edward 's office and set her up at his desk so that she could eat. Edward ate between mingling with potential customer's. I thought it was funny, the way he was running into the room and grabbing a bite of his pizza and a drink before dashing back out to the front of the shop. Gracie and I chatted about her day and what she wanted to do when we finished eating. I let her know that Alice wanted her to spend the night with her tonight and her eyes lit up with delight. She quickly agreed to go with her when she came in to the shop later this evening. Once she finished eating, I set her up with a movie and she snuggled down with Samson with the little portable DVD player in her hands so she could watch it.

The evening was a whirlwind after that. I think that being able to walk in a tattoo shop legitimately brought all of the townspeople out in full force. I had actually booked several appointments for the next week. It averaged around two or three a day. There were also several of the townspeople who kept questioning why Gracie and I were there and why I was helping Edward out. They were pretty obvious in trying to find out if something was going on between us. I was content to stay in the background, not answering their questions about us one way or the other. Edward , on the other hand, let the cat out of the bag when he came up to the desk to check the availability of an appointment slot and absentmindedly pressed a kiss to my lips before going back over to the client.

I saw several people watching him and then looking back at me in contemplation. I could see the rumors flying already and they hadn't even left the shop yet. I knew that Edward and I would be drug through the mud so to speak. Hoping for the best, I turned to the computer in front of me to finish booking the appointments that I hadn't gotten in the computer yet.

When the bell rang over the door, I looked up to see Alice walking in. When Gracie spotted her, she took off running to her and gave her a hug. Alice scooped Gracie up into her arms and settled her on her hip before walking over to the counter to talk to me.

"Hey Bella , how's it going tonight? I see that most of the town seems to be coming in and out of here. I had to wait for a parking space for the first time in forever!" she told me with a laugh.

"We are doing great Alice! Thanks for coming. Oh, I talked to Gracie and she is very excited to be able to spend the night with you tonight. It's a good thing that I packed her a couple of sets of clothes and her pajamas to bring with me tonight." I said.

"That's great! Gracie, would you like to introduce me to Delilah's friend here?" She said as she put Gracie down on the floor.

Gracie was so cute when she called Samson over to her. "Samson, this is Alice. Alice this is Samson." She said before giving Samson a hug and a kiss on his nose.

Alice pet Samson and then Delilah came over to get her own lovin' form Alice. After a few minutes of pets and scratches, I led Alice over to meet Edward .

_"Edward , I am bringing over a friend to introduce you to. She is Gracie's teacher and my best friend."_ I told him in a thought.

_"That's fine, Baby." _He thought back to me before I got to him.

"Edward , do you have a minute?" I inquired politely because he was still talking to a customer.

"Sure thing, just give me a minute to finish up here?" he asked me and when I nodded he turned back to the man he was discussing a tattoo with.

It only took another few minutes for him to finish up and he turned to me with a smile.

"What can I do for you?" He asked me.

"Edward , I would like you to meet Alice Brandon. She's Gracie's teacher at school and she is my best friend." I told him.

He held his hand out to her while telling her that he was pleased to meet her. I watched as she looked him over before accepting his handshake.

"It's nice to meet you, too. Bella has told me so much about you in the last few days. Not to mention Gracie bending my ear at school about the awesome Samson," She told him before sliding a quick glance in my direction.

I could feel the blush spreading across my face when Edward looked over at me with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh, really? Well, I hope it was all good things that she told you." he told her.

"Yep, it was all good. No worries there," she told him with a grin while she looked at me.

We talked a little while before Edward had to go back to making his rounds around the shop, talking to everyone. He told her goodbye and that he hoped to see her again later. When he walked off Alice turned to me with one of the biggest smiles on her face. She pulled my by the hand over to a corner and started talking a mile a minute.

"OH. MY. GOD! Bella he is so hot! I'm so happy for you sweetie! Don't think I didn't notice the looks flying between the two of you. I swear it's a wonder y'all aren't smoldering from all the heat that you can feel between you. Does he have a brother? A cousin? Hell, just an acquaintance who looks like him? If so, sign me up!" she rambled.

I couldn't help but to laugh at her rant. She was so funny. I promised to find out if he had a brother or anything. We talked a bit more before she had to go. Alice helped me gather Gracie's stuff together. I was about to lead Gracie out the front door of the shop when she pulled on my hand and told me that she wanted to tell Edward bye and goodnight. I turned and led her over to where he was standing talking to Evie Turner. She looked at Gracie and I before excusing herself and walking over to look at some of the designs on the wall. I sent Edward a thought to let him know what Gracie wanted and watched as he kneeled down in front of her.

"Hey Gracie, what can I do for you, sweetie?" he asked her quietly.

"G'nite Edward. I'm goin' home with Ms. Alice." she told him softly before she reached out and wrapped her little arms around his neck.

Once again I felt my heart swell when I looked at this big man with his arms wrapped gently around my little girl. Edward looked up at me and winked before he gently kissed her cheek and told her goodnight. When she was finished, I led her and Alice out to get Gracie's car seat out of my truck and moved it over to Alice's car. Once I was finished, I gave Gracie a big hug and told her to behave herself for Alice. She promised to be good and then I got her all strapped in the car.

"Thanks for doing this Alice. I really appreciate it," I told her.

"Your welcome Bella . I hope that you have a great night. I'll be by in the morning with Gracie. Say around ten?" she asked me.

"That sounds great Alice. I'll see you guys then. Call me if you need me, OK?" I told her as she got into her car.

"I'll do that. Good night Bella . Tell Edward I said goodbye, OK?" she said as she buckled her seatbelt.

"I'll let him know," I told her as I stepped back from the car.

I watched her pull out of the parking lot and head down the street towards her house before I went back into the shop. I sent the thought to Edward about Alice telling him bye and he smiled over at me in return and I went back over to the counter to do some paperwork.

Finishing up the last entry, I felt this weird feeling come over me. Slowly, I moved my eyes up to try to see who or what it was without drawing attention to the fact that I had noticed. Looking around the room I noticed none other than Lauren over in a corner staring daggers in me. If looks could kill, I would have been six feet under by now. She would look at me with the daggers and then look over to where ever Edward happened to be standing at the time and give him a come-hither look. I smirked to myself because I knew that he didn't like her at all.

I decided to see if Edward noticed his fan and thought to him _"hey baby, did you notice your biggest fan over in the front corner staring daggers at me? I wonder what crawled up her ass tonight?"_

I saw him stand a little straighter and look over at me and then over to where Lauren was standing. She saw him look her way and took that as in invitation to go over and talk to him. He tried to keep the scowl off of his face when she looked up at him but he didn't quite succeed when she placed her hand on his arm and started rubbing on it.

His thought came through loud and clear as moved his arm from under her hand. _"Damn it Bella ! Get your ass over here. If this girl doesn't get her hands off of me I may end up in jail for removing them forcefully from me."_ This was immediately followed by_ "baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you! Can you please just come over here. Oh, by the way, I plan on introducing you as my girlfriend. Is that okay with you?" _

I couldn't help but have a smile on my face as I wondered through the few people left, to get to Edward . When I got there, I slipped my arms around his waist from behind and linked my fingers together over his hard stomach. He slipped his fingers between mine and pulled me around to his side while wrapping me up in his arms. I sent him a thought that it was okay for him to let her know that I'm his girlfriend and he smiled down at me.

"Lauren, I think you know my girlfriend, Bella ." he said to her.

I couldn't help but give her a smug grin because I knew that she was mad as hell right now. I had seen the way she had been looking him over, like he was a steak and she hadn't eaten in a month of Sundays.

She looked me over from head to toe with an arrogant smile on her face. "Yeah, Bella and I know each other. I'm a little surprised that she conned you into going out with her. I mean, she is a bit overweight and she has a kid and all. I'm sure you could have anyone that you wanted, you really don't have to settle for her ya know?" She told him while trying to do the seductress bit.

To say that I was pissed off at her would be an understatement in the extreme. I felt my face turn red from all the anger I was holding back. I felt Edward 's arms tighten around me as he caught my thoughts about maiming the whore. Gasping in surprise, I suddenly found myself behind him as he stood up for me quite forcefully.

"Lauren, You can't see the good in others for all of the negativity that you have. You are a sad excuse for a human being. If you can't talk to Bella any better than that, then you need to remove yourself from my shop and DO NOT come back in here!" he told her.

I thought it was kinda funny, because I had ended up trying to hold him back. We had changed places trying to calm the other down. I quickly stepped in front of him and pressed my hands against his chest while pushing gently against him.

"Baby! Look at me! Just leave it alone. She is so not worth this. We still have people here looking around and you really don't want for them to spread any stories around town, right?" I asked him quickly. I was trying to get his mind off of the skank that stood behind me.

After he gave me a terse nod I turned to Lauren and said "You need to leave, now! You're not welcome here any longer."

"Fine, I'll leave, but know this, I could've had him anytime that I wanted him! I just don't think he's my type!" She said and then turned on her heel and stomped out the door.

"Well, baby. I think you've lost your appeal!" I told him with a laugh.

He turned me to him and brushed his mouth across mine and then pressed his lips firmly to mine. Slowly he pulled back and asked me, "have I lost my appeal to you?"

"Not in the least. In fact you have gained appeal just now. Thank you for standing up for me. I think that she didn't expect that. No one else has done that for me, while I've lived here. I've been on my own with stuff like that, ya know?" I told him.

"Well, baby, you have me now and I plan on being here to help you out when ever you need me!" he said with a smile.

Smiling up at him, I reached out and wrapped my arms around his neck and burrowed my nose in his neck. Taking in a deep breath of his scent, I just stood there enjoyed the feeling of him wrapped around me.

A throat clearing near us brought me out of my stupor. I pulled back out of his arms and looked over to see Norman Atwater from the local Bright Star Convenience Station.

"I'm sorry to interrupt guys, but I wanted to know about booking a time for a tattoo. I hope that's okay?" he wanted to know.

I moved away from Edward , and told him that that was fine and left him there with Edward to talk out his design as I went back over to the counter. It didn't take long before Mr. Atwater came over to book his appointment.

"Hey Bella , How's it going? Mr. Cullen said to tell you that I'll need a four hour slot." he told me.

"Sure thing Mr. Atwater. What day and time were you thinking of coming in?" I asked him.

"Um, well, I'm off next Thursday. Could we do it then? Maybe around four that evening?" he asked.

"Sure thing. I've got you down for next Thursday, at four o'clock, for a four hour slot. Thanks for coming in!" I told him.

"Thanks Bella ." he said and then turned to leave. He stopped half way and turned back to me "oh, and Bella , I'm glad that you've found somebody. We were starting to get a little concerned about you. Well, Hope you have a nice evening!" he said as he turned once more to the door and left.

I couldn't decide if I wanted to take offense at his comment or to take it as a compliment. On one hand, I didn't like the people in town talking about me and my love life, or lack there of; but on the other hand, it kinda made me feel good that he was happy for us. I decided to just put it out of my mind for the time being and think about it later.

Edward was talking to the last patron so I began to go around and straighten up the albums and then moved back to the computer. Since I didn't have anything else to do, I went online and pulled up my e-mail to see if I had gotten any new mail in the last few hours. There was one from my mother, asking me when Gracie and I were coming home for a visit, how we were doing, was I ready to move back closer to the family, ect. I hit reply and told her that I wasn't sure when we would be coming home to visit, we were doing great, and that no I was NOT moving back home.

Home for me was Rocksprings, Texas. It was a smallish city that had a population of around 1,000 people. I had been born and raised there and that town gossip mill was so much worse than it was here. I didn't mind going home for a visit every now and then, but since I had just been home at Easter, it was too soon to be contemplating a visit now. I had plans, that I hadn't let my parents know about, to go for a visit around Labor Day. That was still a couple of months away though. Soon enough for me. It was a long drive with Gracie and Delilah, and it's not that I really minded it, but it could get tiring after so many hours behind the wheel. I would try to find somewhere to stop off for the night but finding somewhere that would accept Delilah was hard to come by. I managed somehow though.

I had just hit the send button when I felt Edward standing next to me. I looked up and noticed that the last customer had left and we were all alone.

"Hey you! How do you think things went?" I asked him, smiling.

"Well, we have appointments booked for the next couple of weeks, so I think it went well. Most people were more open minded than I thought they would be. It was a little surprising, but I'm not going to question anything!" he said with a laugh.

"Yeah, I don't blame you a bit. Mama always told me not to look a gift horse in the mouth. I wasn't really sure what that meant, but I knew not to question Mama to hard!" I told him laughingly.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

He reached out and pulled me in for a quick hug. "Bella, thanks again for everything you've done for me in the past few days and for tonight. It means a lot to me for you to be here helping me. It just made the whole night better, knowing that you were here for me and that when everything was said and done, I could walk over here to you and do this," he said as he bent his head to mine, brushing his firm lips gently across mine.

I licked his bottom lip softly and then slipped it inside his mouth. I truly loved the way this man tasted. I think that I could survive off of his mouth alone forever.

Sliding my hands up his chest, I could feel his hard muscles moving liquidly underneath them. Burying them into his long hair, I pulled his head closer to mine so that I could more easily reach the object of my desire. That bottom lip of his was calling to me in a way that was just insane! I nipped it sharply with my teeth before sucking it into my mouth and running my tongue over it to sooth the ache I had created. He repaid me by pushing his velvet tongue deep into my mouth and wrapping it around my own. This caused me to hum in pleasure at the feeling it stirred inside of me.

I wasn't sure how much longer we could go on like this without going much farther. I wanted him so badly, but I was afraid that if we went to fast and rushed things that it would ruin what was happening between us. That wasn't a chance I was willing to take, I think. He was coming to mean so much to me and I wasn't sure how to deal with that. I had built up all of these walls around my heart to keep from getting hurt in the past and I wasn't sure if I could let him in completely. All of this had flashed through my mind in a matter of seconds as we stood there tangled up together in a passionate embrace. I felt his lips turn up against mine as he slowed the kiss down to gentle nibbles and soft licks. I could feel the fire low in my stomach, as he pulled back to look at me.

"Bella, I know I've told you already that I've never felt this way before, but I want you to know that I really mean it. I don't understand how this is happening so quickly but I've never been happier for it to be this way," he said placing another quick kiss on my check before moving to my ear.

He gently caught it between his teeth and bit down. I could only take a shuddering breath as I moaned softly in delight. Letting go of my ear he moved to place kisses down my neck to my collar bone. He stopped there long enough to suck lightly on the sensitive skin before tracing his lips further along, down to the opening of my shirt.

"So, care to tell me about somebody getting a peek at something, whatever it was, that you were thinking about this morning?" he asked with his lips still pressed to my skin.

"Um . . . it was just that . . . oh god that feels good Edward!" I quickly told him as I pulled his face up from my skin and attacked his neck with my lips.

I could feel the slight stubble, rough against my lips and tongue and loved the feeling of it. The roughness scraping against my sensitive flesh was so intensely pleasurable and it felt as though a bolt of electricity had settled in the pit of my stomach.

Taking a slow easy breath, I tried to clear my head enough to remember what he had asked me earlier. Something about taking a peek at something. When it finally dawned on me what he was asking, I felt the blush rush to my cheeks.

I thought _"there is no way I'm going to tell him that I was talking about my underwear!"_

_"Underwear, hmm? I would give about anything to see her in her underwear!"_ I heard him think. Being able to hear each others thoughts was going to be a bit embarrassing for the both of us, I can just tell.

_"_So, who were you planning on to let peek at your underwear?" he asked me with his trademark smirk firmly on his lips.

"Um . . . no one?" I tentatively replied.

"Bella, Bella, Bella . . . you know that I can hear your thoughts just as well as you can hear mine! There is no point in trying to hide what you were thinking about earlier. I already know. So, the question is, when is it you were planning on this peek happening?" he said

"Edward, I just had a moment of weakness this morning. I think it's still to early in our relationship, or whatever you want to call it, for me to be showing you my underwear! I mean, think about it. We only met like three days ago, for Pete's sake!" I rambled on. "I mean, I still don't know a lot about you. Like where you were born, your full name or even what your parents names are! I don't know what your favorite food is or what your favorite color is or anything!"

"Baby, don't panic! Breath! In . . . and out. . . there ya go! I was only teasing you. I understand that it's still to soon. I mean, I definitely wouldn't turn down the opportunity to have a peek, but I respect you more than that and I don't want you to think that I am only in this for the sex. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think sex is wonderful and I can't wait to experience that with you, but I want to have so, so much more that that with you!" he told me.

"I'm sorry Edward, I dunno why I started to panic like that. Thank you for being so understanding about the whole thing. I mean, yeah I did have the thought this morning, but it's not something that I could or would act on right now. I want to get to know who you are, and who I am with you, before we move on to the next step. Does that make sense to you?" I asked him.

"Yeah, it makes sense. I'm looking forward to doing all of that myself. As for your questions, my parents names are Carlisle and Esme Cullen. My full name is Edward Anthony Cullen, I was born in Chapel Hill, NC on June 20, 1982. Um, let's see, my favorite food is anything that my Mama cooks. My favorite colors are black and red, so you can see why I really liked your ideas for the shop," he told me.

"Yeah, I can see that now. So to return the favor: I was born September 13, 1985. My parents are Charlie and Renee Swan. My full name is Isabella Marie Swan, my favorite food is my Mama's Chicken and Dumplings and her homemade peanut butter fudge. My favorite colors are red, yellow, purple, pink, and black. Um, that's bout all I can of, oh yeah, I was raised in Rocksprings, Texas. I lived there until I moved here two years ago." I told him.

"Well, now we know a little more about each other. That's a step closer to knowing all about you." he said

"Yeah" I said with a big yawn. "I'm so sorry! That just came out of no where!" I told him and looked down at my watch. "Wow, it's eleven o'clock already. Where'd the time get to?" I asked him.

"I'm not sure where the time got to, but I'm so glad that you were here with me. This has been one of the best nights that I've had in a very long time," he told me softly while looking deep into my eyes.

I reached up and ran my fingers softly over his jaw while gazing into the depths of his sparkling green eyes and thought to him_ "I'm so glad that I met you that day. Who knew that going to pick up dog food would have such an impact on my life? Being here with you, and sharing this night with you, has also been one of the best nights of my life too!"_

_"You know, me finding this town was pure luck. I was just doing a random internet search and stumbled across the website for this town. When I looked at the photos of the town and the surrounding area, something just drew me here. It felt like I had a rope tied around me and it was pulling me. It didn't take but a few days to get my stuff together and move here. Now I know why. It was you, Bella. I think that I was led here for you."_ he thought to me.

I couldn't believe what he was saying. I mean, I had felt the same way when I had moved here two years ago. I couldn't place why I felt so strongly about coming here. I just knew that I'd had to do it. I'd enjoyed my solitude and the town when I had to come in for something, but I just figured that was it. Nothing extraordinary had happened until the day that I had met Edward.

"You know, stranger things have happened. Maybe we were both led here for a reason. I think something larger than us is at work here. I haven't felt this connected to another person in my life Edward. It's a little overwhelming for me to think that I would be happy to be by your side forever. I have never wanted forever with anyone before." I told him, then I realized what I had actually said . . . that I wanted him forever.

I hadn't meant to actually let that one slip out. Fearing his response, I ducked my head to stare at my shoes while trying to figure out a way to slip out unnoticed and maybe move far away, I hear there were vacancies in Alaska! Feeling the heat radiating from my face in embarrassment, I pressed both palms to my cheeks to try to get the red tide to fade.

After several moments of silence, I chanced a peek up at Edward. He was standing there with this amused smile on his face and then started to laugh softly. This of course pissed me off, and I narrowed my eyes at him and turned quickly, intent on grabbing my things so that I could leave. Before I could move a step away from him he grabbed me and spun me around to face him. Now, he looked a bit angry.

"Bella, what the hell! Where are you going? You can't make an announcement like that and then walk away from me!" he said raising his voice a tad.

"What the hell? I will tell you what the hell! I'm sorry that that came out. I seem to be infected with verbal diarrhea around you sometimes. You didn't have to laugh at me! I may not be the type of person that you are used to, but come on, you don't have to find that much amusement in it!" I ranted to him without looking at him.

When I finally looked up at him, he had that smirk on his face again. That was the end for me. I turned once more to leave, trying to keep the betraying tears at bay, angry at myself for being about to cry in front of him.

Yet again, he forcefully turned me to him, but this time he attacked my mouth with his own. I tried to pull away, but apparently that wasn't an option for him. I didn't want to feel the bolt of desire when he nipped at my lips and slid his tongue over them. Before I knew it, I had gone from pushing against him to pulling him to me, trying to get closer to him.

He finally lifted his head, while maintaining a firm hold on my waist with one hand and the other reaching up to cup my cheek, his thumb tracing over the contours of my face.

"Bella, I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing at the fact that I've already had those thoughts myself and had thought it absurd that I felt that way for you already! Then, to hear that you feel the same way? That was a smile of relief. And of course, there was the smile when you were ranting at me because you are one fine, sexy lady when you are all fired up like that! Do you realize that your eyes become a dark, stormy chocolate brown and your cheeks get this amazing flushed color? Do you know what it does to me? I'm torn about what I want to do to you. One part of me wants to grab you, hold you tight and kiss you senseless. The other part of me wants to just sit back and watch the show because you are so incredibly beautiful! I'm sorry that you thought I was being mean. That was the last thing on my mind," he told me with a small smile.

"Oh, okay. Now I feel silly. I just saw the amusement on your face and when I heard you laughing, I took it the wrong way. I'm really sorry Edward. Forgive me?" I asked him sheepishly.

"There is nothing to forgive baby!" he said before he leaned down once more until his tempting lips were a hairsbreadth from mine, waiting to see if I would close the distance between us. I slowly slid my tongue out and licked my lower lip before I flicked my tongue out and traced his full lips, silently asking to be let in. He gently slid his tongue over my own before pulling it back inside. I quickly followed behind it and reveled in his taste and texture. I soon found myself astride his muscular thigh, undulating gently as I searched for some friction to ease the ache I felt. He suddenly reached down and grabbed under my left knee and pulled it up until he had wrapped it around his hip. Holding it there, he then moved to the right knee and repeated the action until I was wrapped around his waist. I quickly locked my ankles behind him and pulled him in closer to my raging heat. I could feel the liquid pooling in my panties from the desire I felt for this man.

I had my hands tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck and pulled it gently to get him to lean his head back so that I could place kisses along the strong column of his throat. I could feel his adams apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed and couldn't help but to wrap my lips around it, sucking and licking on it. He groaned deep in his massive chest and pulled our hips closer together, grinding himself roughly against my wet center. That in turn caused me to let out a low moan and grind down on him even rougher. The feeling was unbelievable. I could only imagine what it would feel like when we finally did this without clothes on.

He caught that thought and growled loudly at me while squeezing my ass in his strong hands. Whimpering from the heat and pleasure that was coursing through me, I attacked his neck and ear with renewed vigor. I pulled myself closer to him, wishing that I could sink under his skin. Maybe then I would feel like I was finally close enough.

I felt him moving us and realized that he was headed towards the couch. He sat down and pulled my hips roughly against his own. I could feel the heat coiling tightly in my stomach, just waiting to be released.

"Ugh . . . Edward . . . if you keep doing that . . I'm going to . . . Oh, Dancing Daisies!" I gasped out in bliss as I fell into the oblivion of my orgasm. I felt as thought I was floating on a tide of pure bliss. It didn't even bother me that I had just dry humped my boyfriend to completion.

It didn't take me long to realize that he was still fully aroused and so I took it upon myself to help him out. I started grinding up and down on his massive erection. Soon, I felt the liquid heat in my panties soaking through my jeans.

He could feel the heat coming from me and started grunting softly and hissing as I would slide back down in his lap.

"Edward, baby, come for me!" I told him in between kisses.

I caught his mouth roughly with mine as he tightened his grip on my ass, using it to control my movements to his liking. I felt the spring coiling tightly once again and told him so.

"Oh God. . . Edward . . . I'm so close again. Come with me baby!" He slammed me back down against him and I felt myself fall over the edge with him as he spouted out several well placed curses and endearments.

It was made even more amazing as I could almost feel his pleasure as well as mine. We slowed our movements and gentled our kisses as we came back down from our pleasurable high.

At last, we sat still, wrapped up in each other. He would drop quick kisses on my forehead, nose, or lips while getting his breathing back under control. I took the opportunity to kiss his neck, chin, chest, and anywhere that I could possibly reach with my mouth. I lay my head on his chest and just . . . breathed him in and felt all of the amazing feelings that were coursing through me.

Looking up at him, I shot him a big smile I tried to find my voice, but so far could only get out a baby, so good, and a WOW. He laughed gently at me and tucked my head under his chin.

"Bella . . . I don't have the words to explain how you just made me feel. I don't think I'm quite coherent yet. I'll get back to you once my mind gets unscrambled." he told me. "Speaking of scrambled minds, what's dancing daisies?" he asked with a laugh.

"Well, see, here's the thing. I don't like to say that word, you know . . . the "F" word. Well, I actually try not to curse much at all, especially in front of Gracie. So, instead, I make up words to replace them!" I told him with a smirk.

"You do realize that you are wonderfully silly?" he said with a soft smile gracing his full lips.

"Yeah, I know it's silly, but I always figured that people who curse like that really don't have very good imaginations. They just fall into the mind numbing void of that mess!" I told him.

"Well, thanks for explaining. I will try to keep my cursing at a minimum," he told me as he gave me a quick squeeze around the waist.

"Thanks! I know it's crazy, but it's me," I told him with a shrug and a huge smile on my face.

We sat quietly for a few moments, trying to get our minds back together even further. I felt the need to let him know that he wasn't alone in feeling the lack of words to describe what we had just been through.

"Baby . . . I'm so there. I know what you mean. That was so . . . so. . . ugh, I agree, I don't have the words either!" I told him with a tired laugh."I think I could sit here and go to sleep now. I am so relaxed and comfortable. You make a great pillow!" I teased him as I snuggled further into his chest.

"Well, Darlin', if you wanna sleep here, then by all means we'll stay right here, all night long," he told me with a tired sigh.

"As tempting as that offer is, I don't think we would enjoy it in the morning when we woke up all stiff from sleeping on this couch." I told him sadly.

I figured that I should probably get off of his lap, as I had been there quite a while. When I went to raise up he tightened his grip on me and wouldn't let me move.

"Edward, I really need to get up. I've been sitting here too long already. I don't want to hurt you!" I explained.

"Bella, if you make mention of something like that again, I'm gonna get so put out with you! You aren't too heavy! I know that's what you're thinking and you couldn't be any more wrong. I rather enjoy having you sit here, but if you really want to go, then that's fine. Just don't do it because you think that you're hurting me." he told me gruffly.

I sheepishly looked at him and sat back down for a minute. "Okay, deal. But, now I really do need to get up and go clean up a little, if you know what I'm getting at?" I asked him with a smirk.

"Alright then. That I can accept, especially since I need to clean up too. It's not very comfortable right now. . . if you know what I mean?" he teased back.

"I can imagine. Do you want to go first or do you want me to?" I asked him as I climbed off of his lap.

"You go ahead, Baby. I'll be okay for another few minutes." He told me.

I quickly made my way to the bathroom and cleaned up the best I could. My panties were soaked through and I decided to take them off. I just couldn't put those cold wet things back on my body. I stuffed them into my pocket and washed up before going back out to the waiting area. I let Edward know that I was finished and watched him walk back towards the bathroom with a sigh of contentment.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

After letting the dogs out I went back over to the couch and sat down. I leaned my head back on the cushion, intending to just rest my suddenly burning eyes. The next thing I was aware of, was Edward carrying me out the door of the shop and putting me into his car. I tried to wake up enough to tell him that I would be fine, but my mouth wouldn't seem to move. I let out a small sigh and listened as he called Samson and Delilah over to get in the car.

I tried to stay awake but failed miserably, as I realized he was shaking me awake to ask me about my house key. I struggled to remove it from my pocket in my sleepy daze. Finally, I got it out and he took it from me. He opened the back door for the dogs to get out and then I saw him through my bleary eyes as he opened the front door of my house.

Soon, he was back and opening the car door for me. I slowly placed one foot then the other outside of the door and he pulled me to my feet.

"Thanks baby" I mumbled to him as I tried to shuffle my weary feet towards the house.

I had only made it a couple of steps when I was suddenly airborne once again as he swept me up into his strong arms. I couldn't find it in me to object as he carried me into the house. I just wrapped my arms securely around his neck and closed my tired eyes. The gentle movements as he walked soothed me until I was almost asleep by the time he made it to my bedroom.

I really didn't want him to go, and I think I may have told him so. He tried to release me after he had laid me down in the bed, but I wouldn't let go of him. "Stay, please?" I mumbled to him.

"Bella, are you sure? I don't want you to be upset in the morning," he said.

"m'sure" I replied with a silly smile.

"Okay then, just let me go long enough to lock up the door. Okay baby?" he asked.

I just nodded in reply as he walked out of the bedroom. I decided that I really should put on some more comfortable clothes and slowly made my way over to the big dresser in my room. I found a pair of the silk boxer shorts that I had gotten to sleep in and a white camisole and quickly made my way into the bathroom to change. I had forgotten that I didn't have any underwear on, only to discover that fact when I pulled my jeans off. I decided that I really didn't care, and slid the shorts up and pulled on the cami after removing my shirt and bra. I tiredly made my way back over to the big bed and pulled the covers back and crawled in. I had just gotten covered up when Edward came back inside. He had a sheepish look on his face as he cleared his throat.

"Um, Bella, I just realized that I don't have any clothes to sleep in and I really can't wear what I have on for obvious reasons. Maybe it would be best if I just went home." he told me sadly.

"NO! Um, uh, I mean no, please don't go. I have some boxer's that I'd bought to sleep in. You can wear a pair of those right? Well, that is if you still want to stay. I don't mean to push this on you. I just wanted to feel you next to me a while longer." I told him quietly as I looked down and traced random patterns on my quilt.

"Of course I would love to stay. Just get me those boxers and then I'll change quick. Okay?" he asked.

I jumped out of bed and grabbed him a pair of dark green silk boxers. "I hope that these are alright. I only have them in silk." I told him, hoping that it would be fine.

"Yeah, Baby, that'll be fine," he said and then he took them into the bathroom to change.

It was only a couple of minutes before he came back out, looking like some kind of model or Greek God or something. He was only wearing the boxers. His chest was left bare and oh my lord, what a fine specimen of a chest it was. Covered in tattoos, I could see the barbells in his nipples glinting in the soft light of the small lamp that I had left on. Suddenly, I craved to feel that steel under my tongue. I could just imagine how wonderful it would be to taste the metallic tang of it along with the honey of his skin.

He quietly made his way over to the bed and stood there for a moment, just looking me over. I pulled the blankets back in invitation for him to get in. Smiling, he slipped in next to me and pulled the covers up. I turned over on my side to face him and he did the same. We lay there just staring at each other. Finally he reached out and pulled me over to lay next to him and I snuggled up against his chest. Resting my head on his shoulder, I looked up and got lost in his amazing eyes. Tentatively, I placed the palm of my hand on his stomach and felt the muscles jump in response. My hand seemed to have a mind of its own as it traced the planes of his abs and chest, coming to rest over his heart.

His hand was moving gently over my back and waist before resting low on my hip. I tilted my head up further and he leaned down and brushed his mouth against mine. Once, twice, and then again before he settled his mouth firmly on mine. I sighed in pleasure at the sparks floating thorough my body. Feeling him part his lips, I slipped my tongue out to lightly graze over them. Humming at the taste of him on my tongue, I opened my mouth further to entice him to come inside. He obliged quickly and soon his tongue was whirling around with mine.

He pulled me tighter to his side while his hands roamed over my back and waist before finally settling on my ass. Suddenly, he pulled me over to lay completely on top of his big body. As I settled my knees on each side of his hips, I could feel him pressed right up against my clit. I couldn't help but slowly undulate my hips against him, feeling how huge he was and wondering at the same time if he would really fit inside of me. Saying that he was well endowed would be an understatement of the worst sort.

Moaning into my mouth, he gripped my hips almost painfully as he thrust up against me. I whimpered as I slid my hand down his well defined chest until I found his nipple. I scraped it gently with my fingernail and he hissed in response. I moved my mouth from his and started licking and biting my way down his neck to his chest until I made my way to that nipple. I stared at the masculine beauty of it before flicking my tongue over it. While swirling my hips against him, I took the barbell between my teeth and gently tugged on it, eliciting a low moan from his perfect lips.

I felt his hands began to move under the edge of my cami, up my back before coming around to cup my breasts in his hands. He quickly thumbed my nipples and I was the one gasping out of breath as I called out "Edward!"

I ran my fingers over his chest and found his other nipple and once again laved at it with my tongue and then sucked it into my mouth. I was right about the metallic tang, it was a wonderful taste on my tongue. As I bit down gently on his nipple he pinched mine in return. Raising my head I attacked his mouth again before trailing kisses to his ear. I licked his ear before sliding my tongue down the side of his neck. He was still plucking on my hard nipples before he stared to pull my shirt up.

"Baby . . . Bella . . . I need to see you!" he rasped out.

I slowly released my grip on his chest and raised my arms in invitation. He looked on in anticipation at the skin that was slowly revealed as he lifted the shirt over my head. When it was off he groaned and threw it to the side before quickly leaning up and taking a nipple into his hot mouth. I felt a surge of wetness seeping into my shorts at the flood of desire hit me. I sat up, pulling him with me so that I was sitting on his hard cock. He nibbled on my nipple and gave it rough tugs with his teeth as his hand palmed the other. He licked it before moving his mouth up to the butterfly tattoo that was above it, kissing it gently while his dexterous fingers tugged lightly on my nipples. I was moaning incoherently, so deep in pleasurable feelings that I couldn't even think. I wrapped my fingers in his hair and pulled his head up to lick his lips again. His tongue came out to forcefully enter my mouth and we breathed in each other. I pushed his head back towards my breasts and he didn't disappoint. He kissed his way back down to the opposite breast and licked the nipple before taking it in his teeth and biting down softly.

I pushed down on his shoulders to get him to lay back down on the bed. He reluctantly laid back and I began kissing my way down his chest, licking the indentions in his abs as I made my way down to the trail of hair below his belly button. Blowing softly on the wet trail I had left, I could feel him shudder beneath me. I licked my way down to the waistband of the boxers and just stared at the bulge in front of me. I wanted so badly to taste that part of him. I peeked up at him to see an expression of bliss covering his face. That made me feel bold and I tugged gently on his boxers. I had almost uncovered the head of his cock when he realized what I was doing.

"Baby, you don't have to do that!" he gasped out on a short breath.

"Please Edward? I want to taste you so badly. Please tell me this is okay!" I whimpered to him.

"If you're sure, then I'm not going to object!" he smiled down at me.

I didn't even bother replying with words. I just wrapped my fingers around the waistband of his boxers and pulled them out and then down to uncover his throbbing dick. I gasped sharply as I saw him in all of his glory, standing proudly erect. I got a nice surprise as I looked him over to see that he was pierced right below the head of it. I quickly looked up at him and he smirked at me a bit before saying "surprise baby!".

"Happy birthday to me!" I sing-songed before I slowly ran my nose up his length.

He groaned at the feeling before I slid my tongue out to taste his tip. I swirled my tongue around the head before sliding it down to the base. He twitched as I gently scraped the underside with my teeth.

"Ugh, baby, so good!" he rasped out as I slipped him in my mouth.

I flicked the barbells with my tongue before taking in as much of him as I could. Wrapping my hand around what I couldn't fit in my mouth, I started moving my mouth up and down on him. He grunted and growled in pleasure and every time he would, I could feel my wetness increase. I started rubbing my thighs together, trying to get some relief from the throbbing I could feel in my pussy.

I was moaning from want of my own release, when I felt him wrap my hair around his hand as he guided my head. As I went down I felt the head of his manhood hit the back of my throat and I automatically swallowed. I could feel more of him slipping further into my mouth as I kept swallowing. He shouted out with his release as my nose met his pubic bone. I had a few tears in my eyes from not being able to breath as I slid him out with a soft pop. He looked down at me and told me that I was not to hurt myself trying to do that, ever again.

I pouted at him for a few seconds before a brilliant smile lit up my face and I thought to him_ "yeah, but did it feel good?"_

"Bella, that's not the point. I really don't want you to make yourself uncomfortable and I know that couldn't have been comfortable," he told me as he pulled me up his body. "Please promise me that you wont try to do that again. But, yeah, it did feel amazing though. Thank you!" he said.

I smirked up at him and tried to discretely rub my thighs together. I was soaked and still throbbing with need. Unfortunately, Edward caught me and gave me a smirk himself.

"What's wrong Baby?" he asked with an evil grin on his face as he rolled me over onto my back. "Would you like some help with your little problem?" he said as he landed between my thighs.

He trailed kisses from my lips, under my chin and down to my collar bone where he stopped to suck lightly. I was panting lightly as his wonderfully talented lips moved down to once again attach themselves to my nipple. He nipped at it before moving over to the other one. Raising up he once again kissed my ink before trailing kisses between my breasts down towards my belly button. Dipping his tongue in it lightly he gave it a flick before moving further down to the waistband of my own boxers. He started to tug on my shorts and suddenly I became self conscience about the appearance of my body. I knew, to well in fact, of the faint stretch marks that lined my stomach from carrying Gracie, but I wasn't sure how he would react. I reached down and grabbed his hand before he could push them further down my body.

"Edward, don't" I whispered as I turned my head to the side.

"Bella, what's wrong? Do you not want this? I didn't mean to push you." he told me in a worried voice.

I didn't want him to think he had done something wrong though, "No, it's not that. This is . . . it's just. . . Edward, I'm happy with myself you know? I've made peace with my body, but . . . I'm not sure how you will react. I don't want to disgust you." I ended on a whisper.

I admit, I was a little nervous. I wanted this more than anything right now, but I also wanted to give him a bit of warning.

"Isabella Marie Swan! Is that what you think of me? That I would be that shallow?" he said hotly. "How can you not see that I'm totally and completely turned on by you and that I can't seem to keep my hands off of you and your body. I am so turned on by you, that all you have to do is walk in the room and I get hard! I mean, hell, most of the time I just have to think about you and it happens. Please, Baby, believe in me a little, okay?"

I reached down and pulled on his shoulders to get him to raise up to my face and wrapped my arms tightly around him. Burrowing my nose in his neck, I placed quick kisses there while telling him how sorry I was. I pulled back to see his face.

"Edward, I'm happy with me. I admit, I used to be extremely self-conscience about my body. Yeah, I have stretch marks on my stomach and I'm not a size four, but I enjoy my life and try not to let others opinions of me get me down. I'm sorry that I let some of that come through temporarily. I promise not to do it again." I sheepishly told him.

"That's better!" he told me before nuzzling at my neck. "Bella, I think that you're perfect, just the way you are! I want you to know that. You may not fit with society's standard, but you fit in just right with me. I wouldn't have you any other way, Baby!"

I smiled at him before reaching down to pull his head up. I licked his lips and sighed. "Thanks Baby" I told him softly.

He began nibbling on my lips, moving from one corner to the other before he moved back down my body. He reached out to give each of my nipples a quick kiss before moving on down to my belly button again. Placing a kiss there, he once again began to tug on my boxers. This time I lifted my hips to help him. He sat up and slid them down along my legs and once they were off he tossed them aside with the rest of our clothes.

He groaned as he said "Oh, God! Bella you're bare! Are you trying to kill me?"

I stared up at him, this magnificent man, kneeling naked beside me and felt the wetness seeping out of me and onto the bed. I wanted him. I thanked my lucky stars for the chance meeting at the pet store, never more grateful for needing dog food.

He ran his hands slowly along my calves up to my knees and then he traced the dragon on my right thigh.

"This is really great," he said and then leaned over to kiss and lick his way from the bottom of it to the top.

He continued to move his lips up my thigh and I started to squirm underneath him as I felt my self growing steadily wetter the closer his mouth got to my center.

He ran his hands up my thighs before slowly moving them in towards my center. I held my breath as he lightly brushed over my swollen bud and shivered as I felt the jolt of pleasure run through me. Pressing down more firmly on it, he started rubbing slow firm circles over it. I arched into his hand, wishing for something else to fill me up. He heard my thought, and slowly slipped a finger from his other hand into my heat.

"Baby, you're soaked!" He groaned while pumping his hand in time with the circles on my clit.

Adding another finger, he curled them up to hit my g-spot and I felt myself start quivering from the intense pleasure. Leaning down he blew softly on me, before replacing his thumb with his tongue.

"Oh, god baby! Just like that!" I whimpered as I grabbed his hair.

He licked in slow circles over my clit while pumping his long strong fingers in and out, hitting that spot inside me that sent waves of sensations running through me. I felt my orgasm trying to come over me, and when he bit down on my engorged nub, I fell over the edge while calling out his name. He continued to lick and suck lightly on me until I calmed back down. With one last shudder, I let out a sigh and pulled gently on his hair. He raised up and crawled back up my body and pressed his weight fully on me. I reached up and kissed him fully and when I tasted myself on his mouth I let out a moan and wrapped my legs around his waist, trying to pull him closer to my body.

"I thought that you wanted to wait baby? We can wait. What we just did is good for now," he told me in his gruff sex filled voice.

"We can still be close. Just feel, we don't have to go all the way, just do it like this." I told him reaching down and taking his large cock in my hand.

I placed him between my folds, so that he was rubbing against my clit. When I had him where I wanted him I tentatively moved my hips and hissed when I felt the barbell in his cock slide over my sensitive nub.

"God Bella! Why didn't you think of this earlier?" he growled at me while pumping his hips against me.

"I dunno, it just came to me." I told him with a gasp.

I tightened my arms around his waist as he leaned in to kiss me gently. I slid my hands up and down his back then slid them down to cup his tight ass and pull him to me harder. He was resting his weight on his elbows and had his hands wrapped in my hair. I nipped at his lips as our hips moved in a rhythm as old as time. I couldn't get over how much I wanted him again. I had just had an explosive orgasm and still felt that it wasn't enough. I dropped my legs to the bed so I could spread them further apart, to get him closer to my dripping core. I knew that we weren't going to have any penetration, but I wanted it so badly. I would only have to move my hips a little higher and he would slip right in.

When he caught that thought, he groaned against my lips and then pulled back. Sitting up on his knees, he pulled my hips up to rest on his thighs as he moved his hard throbbing shaft between my glistening folds. I could feel the tip dragging across my opening as he gathered the moisture there to spread up my slit. I heard a loud moan and realized that it was me. I couldn't bother to be embarrassed, because I was to wrapped up in the feelings I had. I wanted him inside me. NOW!

_"Edward, baby, I don't think I can do this! I want you inside me. Please baby? I want to feel you filling me up! I want to feel your piercing rubbing against my walls! I need you so bad!" _I begged him with my thoughts.

"Bella, I don't want to do anything that we might regret tomorrow. What if you have second thoughts? Shit, I don't even have a condom! We can't do this!" he told me as he started to pull away.

"Edward Cullen if you move I will seriously be pissed with you! I will not regret this tomorrow. I know I said I wanted to take things slow, but I didn't realize how intense these feelings were going to be. I don't want to wait anymore. Besides, I'm on the shot. No worries there. I'm clean, and if you say that you are too, then I trust you. But, if you really don't want to do this, then we can wait." I told him as I slid my dripping folds against him.

He hissed at me and pulled his hips back. For a moment I thought that he was going to get up, but he looked down at me with lust on his face as he lined the massive head of his shaft up with my opening. He barely rested it against my opening and I could feel myself getting wetter at the feel of him starting to invade my body in the best of ways. I could feel my juices slipping out around him. "Bella, I'm clean," he said as he impaled me on his throbbing cock. I let out a guttural moan as I felt myself stretching to accommodate his massive size. I reached up to him and he pulled me up to sit on his thighs. We remained unmoving, just feeling the connection between us.

_"Baby! You feel so good filling me up." _I thought to him.

I had my arms wrapped around his neck with my hands buried in his hair. He had his hands under my ass holding me to him as he started to grind into me. My clit was being ground against his pubic bone every time and it would send shock waves through me. He was grunting in my ear as he grasped my earlobe in his teeth before he started sucking on it.

Moving his hands up my back, he wrapped them around my shoulders and leaned me back so that he could reach my hard nipples. He sucked hard on first one and then the other, rotating every few seconds, before he bit down on my left nipple causing me to gasp in pleasure. I couldn't be still any longer and started moving my hips against his, feeling his pierced length moving inside me. I pulled on his shoulders to get him to lay me back down. As he did so I wouldn't release him and pulled him closer to me as I wrapped my legs around his waist and locked my ankles behind him.

"_Harder baby!" _I thought to him.

He started moving quicker and harder into me and I screamed his name out of the intensity of it. His mouth went back to my nipples as he sucked hard on them and bit down on them roughly and I loved it. Sliding my hand down his chest, I tugged on the barbell in his nipple. He grunted in response and continued to thrust into me at a quick pace. I reached over to tug on the other barbell. I loved hearing his grunts and groans of pleasure. I gently pushed his head away from my breasts and leaned up and captured his nipple in my mouth. I bit down on the right one as I tugged on the left with my fingernails. He hissed under his breath and slammed his body into me. Leaning back down he started sucking on my lips and thrusting his tongue into my mouth with the same rhythm that he was thrusting himself into my body. I whimpered around his tongue before I pushed him back. He looked at me questioningly and I motioned for him to lay down. When he slid out of me, I moaned at the loss I felt.

After he lay back I sat there beside him, just staring at his body and his length. He twitched under my lustful gaze. I leaned in and blew gently on it before quickly licking my way up to the head and running the tip of my tongue in the slit I found there. I felt the rumble in his chest and quickly engulfed him in my mouth. I twirled my tongue around, tasting the heady mixture of both of us on him. It was such an erotic thought that I felt my juices running down my thigh. I couldn't take much before I had to feel him inside me again. I quickly straddled his waist and slowly lowered myself, inch by inch, on his hard shaft. By the time I had seated him fully inside of me I was panting from my need.

"Oh Bella, damn it baby, you're so tight! Ung!" he ground out between his clenched teeth.

Raising up sightly, I rotated my hips before settling myself back down on him. I could feel the barbell tracing over my inner walls every time I moved and it increased the pleasure immensely. Rocking back and forth, I ground my clit on him while clenching my inner walls around his massive size. I began to rise up farther, leaning over his chest until my nipples were in his face. He quickly reached out and tweaked one roughly with his fingers while attaching his mouth to the other one. I started moving faster and faster on him, enjoying the fullness of him inside me. The coil of desire was tightening fast in my stomach and I knew that my release was imminent.

"Baby, I'm going to come!" I told him hoarsely.

He reached between us and rubbed my clit with his thumb while biting down sharply on my nipple. That was all it took to send me over the edge into bliss.

I didn't get to recover for long before he pushed me gently off of him while telling me to get on my knees. I felt myself quiver at the thought of him taking me like that. I swiftly turned around away from him and got on my hands and knees. He came up behind me and ran his big hands over my ass before sliding three fingers in me, pumping a few times before removing them. I looked over my shoulder to see him licking my juices off of his fingers, one by one while he was staring at my dripping pussy.

"Um, Baby, so sweet!" he told me before grabbing my hips and then slamming his cock back into my dripping core.

He filled me up so much and was hitting spots that I never knew I had. I let out a stream of my nonsense curse words as he rammed into me again and again. He reached one hand around me to grab my nipple while he ran the other around to press on my clit. I moaned and hissed in pleasure as he worked me.

"Baby, come for me!" he demanded roughly. "I'm not going to last much longer, I'm almost there! Come now!" he said as he pulled roughly on my nipple while twisting my clit at the same time as he thrust into me roughly.

That combination was all it took to make me come harder than I ever had in my life. As I clenched down hard on his rigid length, I could feel him start to thrust erratically and I knew that he was about there. I reached between my legs and massaged his balls in my hand.

"Baby, Come for me. Now!" I told him gruffly.

"Bella, I'm . . . I'm . . . oh fuck baby!" he shouted as I felt wave after wave of cum wash over the walls of my quivering pussy. That sent me into a mini orgasm all on its own.

We were both panting for breath, trying to calm our racing hearts as we collapsed on the bed. Edward had landed on top of me, still buried deep inside of my quivering walls. I didn't want him to leave, but all to soon I felt him pull away gently and move to lay beside me. I mustered up what strength I had to turn my head to look over at him.

He was laying on his back, lost in his own world. I could pick up random thoughts coming from him, but nothing very coherent. I felt smug that I had reduced him to a pile of thoughtless man goo. At that, he turned his head sharply over to look at me.

"Thoughtless man goo?" he questioned with an arched brow. "I'll have you know that I'm not the only thoughtless one here missy. I can't help it if that was the most intense thing that I've ever experienced in my life! I mean, Wow!" he trailed off.

"Yeah baby, thoughtless man goo!" I told him with a laugh.

I knew that I wasn't much better myself, but I still couldn't resist telling him that. _"Edward, that was, well it was beautiful. I do have a question though."_ I thought to him.

_"Whats that Baby?"_ he thought back.

"Did you feel like you could feel my release as well as your own? Through our mind link, or is just me?" I asked him quietly.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I did feel that way. It made something great into this totally intense experience. No wonder I'm so tired!" he said with a laugh.

"Okay, I'm glad that you got to experience that too. It was mind blowing wasn't it?" I asked him.

"Yeah, it definitely blew my mind!" he said with a quiet laugh.

"I need to clean up, I'll be right back. Don't move!" he told me sternly, before pulling himself out of bed and making his way to the bathroom.

I watched his naked form disappearing into the bathroom and felt a residual flare of heat between my thighs as I thought about what he had just done to my body. _I could get used to having Edward walk around naked in my bedroom,_ I thought to myself with a smile.

_"Yeah, well, I could get used to being here, walking around naked in your bedroom too_," he thought back at me.

I smiled widely and tried to wait patiently for him to come out of the bathroom so that I could go clean myself up. Finally after a few minutes I heard the door open and Edward came walking out with a damp washcloth in his hands. He was still as naked as he was when he went into the bathroom. I didn't complain a bit. I just smiled to myself as I devoured him with my eager eyes.

He walked over to the bed and sat down beside of me before parting my legs and cleaning me up. It took me off guard a little and I told him that he didn't need to do that.

"I know that I don't need to Baby, I just wanted to," he replied as he rubbed the rough cloth over my sensitive nub and slit.

I couldn't help but moan a little and push myself into his hand as he moved the cloth away and pushed his fingers inside of me again. He looked at me in surprise as he felt the liquid pooling there.

"Baby, you're wet again already. I was just cleaning you up. How can you be that turned on by it?" he asked me, slightly confused yet smug.

"Edward baby, all you have to do is walk in a room and you do this to me. Throw in the fact that you're naked and the memories of what we just did, and I'm most definitely soaked for you!" I told him grinding against his hand.

"Well, we can't leave you like this!" he said smugly as he bent over and licked between my flushed, swollen folds.

When he found my nub, he sucked it in his mouth and nibbled on it gently. I grasped him firmly by the hair and pushed his head harder against me as I ground into his mouth. He slid his tongue up and down my slit before pushing it inside my quivering walls as far as he could reach. He tongued me, while his fingers played with my clit, pulling and twisting gently on it. After cleaning me up of my juices, he slid his tongue back up to my nub, sucking it between his full lips and then he started strumming it with his tongue. I bucked my hips faster into his face, panting from the imminent release I could feel brewing deep in my womb. I had to taste his lips again. I needed to taste him. It was a compulsion to taste him.

"Baby, please come up here. I need your mouth on mine." I told him between pants and moans.

He settled himself against my body and I could feel his erection against my stomach. I pushed down on his hips as I tried to move up enough for him to slide home again. Moving my hips again I got him where I wanted him and pulling tightly against his ass with my feet I slid him inside. We both gasped at the feeling, the wonder of being so connected.

This time we moved slowly, no mad rush was needed. It was a connecting of our souls and thoughts to one another. It was a gentle bliss that washed over us as we found our release together.

I held Edward close to me as he started to move over. "Please, just stay for another moment?" I asked him quietly. "I just need to feel you here for a while longer." I explained to him.

He compromised by turning us both on our sides and wrapping my right leg around him while he remained buried deep inside me. He reached down and grabbed the covers, pulling them over us. I held him close to me and soothed him with soft strokes of my hands down his back and across his chest as we both contemplated the connection we my head under his chin, We squeezed each other in a hug before both giving in to a deep slumber, still connected with the other.


	10. Chapter 10

S. Meyer owns it all peeps! I just love playing with her characters! Here's a little morning lemontasticness for you guys. Thanks so much for the reviews and favorites from everyone! :)

Chapter 10

When conscientiousness visited me the next morning, I realized that at some point in the night we had moved. I was now turned facing away from Edward, laying on my right side. My left leg was pulled up and in towards my chest and I could feel Edward laying pressed up against me from behind. His left leg was thrown over mine and he had his left arm wrapped around me with his hand covering my right breast.

I realized that I couldn't move. I gently tried to wiggle out of his grasp and all he did was tighten his hold on me. I lay there for a moment, and processed everything that had happened the night before. I wasn't disappointed at all, in fact I was far from it. I had been sent to heights like I had never experienced and just thinking about it now made me wet. Pushing my ass back against him, I could feel his manhood starting to harden. Biting my bottom lip, I slowly pushed back against him so that he moved his leg off of mine a little.

Lifting my left leg up, I reached between my legs and found his hardness and I lined him up to my dripping honey hole. Easing back, I felt the head, with its piercing, passing into my moist heat. The barbells rolled along my walls as I panted from the extreme feelings shooting through me. Pushing myself harder, I reached my hand back down to rub my nub and then pushing my fingers further down, I could feel him where he entered my body. Just thinking about the sight made me moan in delight. I reached behind me with my left hand and felt around gently until I found his neck. Turning my head, I could see that he was still asleep. I tried, I really did to be good then, and I was going to try to back to sleep. I wrapped my left hand around his fingers that were on my breast and couldn't help but squeeze it gently. That caused me to grind gently on his hard length. I was still impaled on him and he seemed to be getting harder every second.

Slowly, ever so slowly, I felt his hips start rocking into me, sliding him further into my depths. I grunted when my fingers found my clit again. I really wanted him awake, but yet the fact that he was this turned on by me, even in his sleep was so hot. I felt the heat consuming me as he started thrusting his hips roughly against me. I sped my fingers up and I was almost ready to topple over into oblivion when suddenly he moved his hand on my breast. He pinched my nipples and then grasped my hip firmly as he began pounding into my wet core. I felt my orgasm floating right there before me and when he reached around and pinched my nub, I fell over that cliff and then I felt him grunt out his release as he stiffened behind me.

"Damn Baby! That's what I call a good wake up call!" he thought to me while sighing contentedly.

"Yeah, I know what you mean! Now I don't want to get up." I pouted to him.

He slapped me gently on my ass and then pulled me closer to him. Laying there with his arms wrapped around me made me so content. I felt like I was at home and so safe. I finally pushed away from intending to turn over when he pulled me closer to him and growled slightly at me. I just push against him again before he let me go. I turned to face him and smiled up into his beautiful green eyes.

"Good Morning Baby." I whispered to him. "Thanks for staying with me last night."

"Morning to you too Bella," he replied before leaning down to brush my lips with his own. "It was my pleasure, staying the night with you."

I hugged myself fully against him, found the perfect spot on his shoulder, and nuzzled my nose into his neck. I thought about the night before and hoped that he wasn't upset with me for everything. I mean, I practically forced myself on him. I started to frown from that thought when he squeezed me and let me know that I had not forced myself on him and that he was a fully willing participant. That made me feel immensely better about the whole thing. I didn't regret it in the least and I was glad that he didn't either.

We lay there quietly for a while, enjoying the feeling of our skin pressed together and the peace that flowed between us. I really didn't want to get up, but my stomach chose that time to start growling in protest, making me realize that I hadn't eaten since our supper the day before. Edward gave me a quick hug and suggested that we go find some breakfast.

"I think that's a great idea!" I told him as my stomach rumbled again. "I just need to hop in the shower first."

I regretfully climbed out of the bed and started walking towards the bathroom when I heard him groan behind me. I turned to look at him and I watched him flop back on the bed while throwing his arm across his eyes. I looked myself up and down but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Yeah, I was naked, but so was he.

"Edward, are you okay?" I asked him while walking back towards the bed.

"Baby, if you want to be able to accomplish anything today, other than staying in this bed all day, then you had better get yourself into that bathroom right now!" he said roughly.

I was really surprised that I had that affect on him. I didn't see anything special about me, but it made me feel beautiful that he thought of me in that way.

"You don't see yourself the way I do. You are absolutely the most beautiful woman that I have ever laid my eyes on, and to see you walking away from me, pretty as you please, naked as the day you were born, UGH! Just go before I drag you back in this bed," he told me as he sighed loudly.

I couldn't help the smirk that crossed my lips as I sauntered into the bathroom. After taking care of my personal business and brushing my teeth, I leaned in to start the shower. While I was waiting for the water to heat up I looked at myself in the mirror. What I saw staring back at me was truly amazing. I looked like I had been thoroughly sexed up and that I had enjoyed every minute of it.

Giving myself one more once-over, I turned and got into the shower. I stood under the steaming water for a minute before turning around to wet my hair. I had leaned my head back, getting it thoroughly soaked and reached out blindly for my bottle of strawberry shampoo. I felt it being placed into my hand and opened my eyes to see Edward standing there, his eyes raking over my body.

I smiled at him and invited him in. He smiled in return as he climbed in with me. He took the shampoo back from my hand and squeezed out a generous amount into his hand.

"Turn around Baby, let me wash your hair for you," he told me while rubbing the shampoo between his large hands.

I turned slowly and felt his fingers scraping through my heavy hair, spreading the shampoo to the ends before he started to scrub it. He started at my scalp and massaged the shampoo in there, before going all the way to the ends. The fact that he knew how to wash long hair was so great. He didn't pile it all up on my head and create tangles like a lot of people would have. After he had finished, he turned me around to face him as he rinsed the soap out of my hair. I wrapped my hands around his waist and just held on. My eyes were closed and I was so blissful. I really enjoy having someone mess with my hair, be it washing it, brushing it, or just playing with it. It puts me into a pleasant trance and his fingers were magical!

After making sure all of the shampoo was out of my hair, he turned me once again to put the conditioner in it and worked it to the ends that fell to the top of my waist. Then, he found my body wash and body pouf. Squirting in a good sized amount he squeezed it until it started foaming up before he started to wash my body for me. He was so tender as he slowly ran the pouf over my shoulders and down my arms. There was nothing sexual about the way he cleaned my chest and stomach before dropping to his knees to soap up my legs all the way down to my toes.

He dropped the pouf and ran his hands back up my legs, gathering up the soap in his hands before he gently started washing my lady bits for me. He slid his fingers through my folds as he gently lathered me up. After making sure that I was thoroughly clean he rinsed me off.

He was still on his knees before me. Slowly leaning in, he placed a kiss on my nub before gently licking it. I couldn't hold in the moan as I felt my knees start to give out. My hands were gripping his shoulders as he ministered so gently to my wet slit. There were no rushed touches, everything was slow and easy as he slid first one and then another long finger inside me. He curled them towards my bellybutton from the inside and found that wonderful place that made me squirm from pleasure.

"Edward!" I gasped out as I tugged on his shoulders.

He looked up at me and then slowly pulled his fingers from my heat before he traced them over my stomach up to cradle my breasts in his palms. Standing up, he stopped to lick first one nipple and then the other before he trailed kisses up my chest to my mouth. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kissed him back with all of the feeling that was coursing through me. He hissed slightly when I nipped gently at his bottom lip. He slid his hands from my breasts, down to my waist before reaching around to cup my ass in his hands. Easily lifting me up, he held me against the wall of the shower while he softly kissed my lips and tangled his tongue with mine. I could feel his erection pressing into my stomach and moved softly against it. There was still no pressing sense to rush things.

He squatted slightly before wrapping my legs around his waist and sliding inside me. I could feel the muscles in his thighs bulging beneath my legs as he started to slowly move in and out of me. Still going slow, we moved gently together to find our release amid soft moans and gentle sighs. I felt as though I was on a tight wire, ready to plunge off at any moment when he reached between us and flicked my clit with his fingernail. That sent me over the edge and as I clamped down on him, I felt him stiffen against me and chant my name with his release.

He held me to him for a moment before gently sitting me back down on my feet. There were no words needed between us as we exchanged gentle kisses along with soft sighs. We just stood under the fall of warm water and let it wash us clean.

Sighing gently one last time, I moved from his arms to grab my shampoo. Looking up at him I arched a brow and motioned for him to kneel once more. He smiled gently at me before doing as I asked him. I reached up and pulled the removable shower head down so that I could wet his hair. After is was soaked, I handed him the shower head while I lathered his hair up. I gently massaged his scalp and pulled his hair through my fingers. Reaching for the shower head, I rinsed all of the shampoo out before grabbing the conditioner. I raised my eyebrow in question about the conditioner before I put any in it. He nodded his head and I gently tugged on his hair as I conditioned it. I left the conditioner in his hair and motioned for him to stand again. He stood up and I grabbed my body wash and squirted it into my hands. I didn't want anything between my hands and his taut skin. Starting at his shoulders I worked my way down his body making sure to clean every inch of his skin. As I was kneeling at his feet I looked up his body to see him standing there with his head thrown back while he reveled in my tender ministrations.

This man was the epitome of beautiful. He was covered in tattoos. From his full sleeves to the family crest over his heart. There was a phoenix on the outside of his left thigh that was beautiful. As I made my way back up his body I traced over the lines of his tattoos and wondered what the meanings were behind them. They were like a story map of his life. He had a dragon that started at his waist and climbed up his back to peek over his right shoulder. The artwork was truly amazing. I wondered how long he had sat under the needle to get all of it done.

"Hours and hours, baby! Hours and hours," he thought to me in response.

I kissed my way up his chest, lightly tracing my tongue over his nipples before making my way up his neck. I couldn't reach any farther because he was so tall. He obligingly leaned down to meet my mouth with his own. We exchanged several soft kisses before parting.

I reached over and grabbed the shower head again and motioned for him to kneel once more so I could rinse the conditioner out of his long hair. Once I was finished, I reached over his head to turn the water off. He quickly licked at the nipple that moved into his line of sight. I shuddered lightly, before gently smacking him on the shoulder. I hung the nozzle back up and pulled the shower door open. Reaching out I grabbed a couple of large towels and handed one to Edward while I started to dry off with the other.

He reached out and grabbed it from me, before he proceeded to dry my hair and then my body.

"Go on Baby, go get dressed. I'll be out in a minute." he told me softly.

"Alright" I replied before stepping out of the shower while wrapping the towel around my body. "Oh, I'm setting you out a toothbrush, it's a new one." I told him before placing it on the counter.

I left the bathroom and saw the dogs staring at me. Delilah whined a little and I knew that she wanted out.

"Come on guys. You want to go out don't you?" I asked them as I led them to the patio doors off of the living room.

I slid the door open and as they rushed out I took a deep breath of the clear morning air. Even though it was near the end of June, it hadn't gotten too hot here yet. That was one of the benefits of living here in Colorado, it didn't get so extremely hot in the summer. It was just a nice heat, nothing like South Texas. I looked over the yard and noticed Samson and Delilah making there way to the barn. Glancing over at the clock on the mantle I saw that it was already 8:30.

I was late feeding the horses and I knew that they would be looking for me. I turned and made my way back to the bedroom. Edward was sitting on the bed in nothing but his towel when I walked in. There was a thoughtful look on his face and I walked over to stand between his legs. Reaching my hands out I cupped his face in one and he leaned into my palm before turning his mouth to kiss it.

"Everything alright?" I thought to him.

"Yeah, Baby, I'm great actually. I was just sitting here, thinking about my life before I met you. I don't know how I made it without you. I lived such an empty existence. I thought I had everything I wanted, but until I met you, I really didn't know what it was I wanted. Thank you for being in my life Bella. Thank you for letting me get to know Gracie. You just being here with me, it makes me feel so complete. I hope this sounds better than it feels coming out. I don't want to screw this up, this thing we have between us." he thought to me in return.

"Edward, I don't think it's even possible for you to screw this up. I feel the same way. When I think of the fact that we've only known each other for less than a week, it's so very hard to believe the intensity of my feelings for you. But, Baby, they are there. We are the ones living our lives, and I think that as long as we can accept how fast this thing between us is growing, then I think we'll be okay." I told him softly as I rubbed my fingernails lightly against his shoulders.

He smiled up at me before leaning up to give me a quick kiss. "Okay, Baby. Thanks for understanding," he told me.

He pushed me gently away from him before telling me to go grab my clothes. I moved to the dresser to pull out a bra and the matching panties. They were pink and had black stripes on them. I moved from there to the closet. I went in there and dropped my towel so that I could pull on my underthings. After sliding on my panties I pulled my bra on. I decided that since I was going to be on the ranch that morning that I would wear my shorts and a tank top to work in.

I found an old worn pair of Levi cut-off's and grabbed a black tank top. I pulled them on quickly and exited the closet to find Edward standing by the window, fully dressed.

Turning when he heard me enter the room, he held his hand out for me to take. I twisted my fingers with his and let him lead me to the kitchen. I quickly pulled out the ingredients to make omelets. We worked well together as he asked me questions about the ranch and the horses. He wanted to learn about what ranching entailed and so I told him that I would take him out on the four-wheeler later to show him around. It didn't take long to finish breakfast and clean up our dishes.

We both lit up a smoke as we walked out on the porch. I laughed silently at our unintentional coordination. He just quirked a brow and grabbed my hand again to lead me towards the barn. We walked slowly, just enjoying the morning, while we finished up our cigarettes. We made it to the barn door and I showed Edward the pot that I used to put my smokes out in. After dropping them in, he opened the door for me. As soon as I walked in, I heard Luna and River nickering at me in complaint for being so late to feed them. It was now almost 9:30 and they were not happy to be kept waiting that long.

I reached up to pet Luna's muzzle as I apologized to her for being so late. Edward just snickered at me before he walked over and rubbed River's muzzle. I showed him where the feed was kept and how much to give each one. I walked him into the stalls so that the horses could get to know him. He did great with them and didn't seem at all nervous around them. They in turn could tell and stayed relaxed the whole time. Since everything was going good, I left him in the stall with River to go get the water hose. I pulled it back to where I needed it, and handed it over the stall door to Edward so that he could fill River's water bucket. When it was full, he handed it back to me. I took it into Luna's stall and filled her bucket before turning it off.

I took the hose and put it away and then grabbed the grooming tools. I went into River's stall and showed Edward how to curry the horses and then how to pick their hooves. He was a quick study as he remembered a lot of it from when he was a kid. It didn't take us long to finish up with them and he led River as I led Luna out of their stalls. Leading them outside, we walked around the barn to the pasture there and turned them out. They would stay there for the rest of the day.

After closing the gate behind them, I turned to Edward with a smile on my face. "So, you wanna go on that tour now?" I asked him. "Well, when Gracie gets here. Alice should be here soon with her. Gracie loves to go out on the four wheeler with me."

His face lit up and he told me yeah. I led him to the back of the barn, under the shelter and showed him my four-wheeler. It was a big thing that would easily hold both of us and Gracie.

I climbed on and patted the seat behind me while telling him to climb on. He was soon sitting behind me, with his arms wrapped around my waist. I flipped the switch and started the motor up.

"Hang on Baby!" I told him as I took off from under the shelter.

I drove us around the barn and to the front of the house. Turning the four-wheeler off, we sat there and talked while we were waiting for Alice. It was only a few minutes later that I heard her car coming down the driveway. I looked over and saw her waving to us. She parked the car while we climbed off of the four-wheeler and walked over to the car. I opened the car door to an excited Gracie bouncing in her seat.

"Momma! Are we gonna ride? Please can I ride?" she called out as soon as the car door was open.

"Yeah sweetie, we're gonna take Edward to our thinking spot. You think that'll be fun?" I asked her as I unbuckled the straps to her seat.

She started clapping her hands in excitement before I could get her out of her seat. When I put her on the ground, she took off running over to Edward and grabbed his hand, trying to lead him to the four-wheeler. We all shared a laugh at her antics and I had to tell her to wait for a minute. She pouted out her bottom lip a little and I watched as Edward sank down to his knees to talk to her.

I could hear whispers between them and then Gracie hugged Edward before she came running back over to where Alice and I were standing by the car. She bounced around our legs while we finished up our conversation. She gave Alice a quick hug goodbye before she went running back towards Wulf. I had to laugh at her antics and told Alice goodbye.

After watching her pull out of the driveway I turned to the four-wheeler to see Edward and Gracie perched on the seat, ready to go. She was sitting in front of him and he was holding her waist so that she didn't fall off with all of her bouncing around.

I smiled as I walked over to them. Edward nudged Gracie and pointed her in my direction. She smiled her beautiful smile and her big green eyes danced in excitement. Gracie loved to ride on the four-wheeler. It was her favorite thing to do other than ride the horses. When I got close to them she scooted up as far as she could towards the handlebars so that I could get on. It was something that I had taught her when we first got the four-wheeler. I kissed her on the cheek before reminding Edward to lean back so that I didn't kick him by accident as I swung my leg over the seat to get on.

Once I was settled, Edward slid right up behind me and wrapped his long arms around me and held onto Gracie. I leaned back against him for a minute before starting the motor up and putting the four-wheeler into gear. Making sure that everyone was ready, I took us out to the pasture and then along the creek that flowed along the western border of my property. I didn't have time to show him everything, but there was one place that I really wanted to show him. It was a bit of a steep climb from where I parked the four wheeler, but when we got to the top, I heard him inhale sharply at the view before us.

"Bella, this is beautiful! How did you luck out to find this spot?" he asked me as he looked around.

"Well, I was out riding one day and happened to look up and I saw this cliff. I knew that there had to be a way to get up here. It took me a while, but I finally figured it out. The first time I got up here, I just sat for what seemed like hours, just breathing. It's where I like to go when I need to think. That's actually what I call it, My Thinking Spot." I told him laughingly.

"Well, that's as good of a name as any," he told me.

We sat down on the outcropping of rock that made a natural seat. Edward sat down, straddling the rock, before he pulled me down between his thighs. I in turn pulled Gracie onto my lap so that she wouldn't get to close to the edge of the cliff. I leaned back against him as he wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my shoulder.

There was such a tranquility up here, away from everything and everyone. We watched the birds soaring on the breeze and the deer in the far reaches of the pasture. Taking turns, we answered Gracie's many questions about the different animals that we saw. We got lost in the scenery for quite a while. Edward finally roused himself enough to look at his watch and cursed lightly into my ear.

"Bella, I really don't want to go, but I have to open the shop in a little over an hour. Can we come back sometime?" he asked me quietly while nuzzling against my ear.

"Yeah, we can come back anytime you want." I told him as I leaned my head over to give him better access to my ear.

We got up, a little stiff from sitting still for so long. Making our way carefully back down the rock face, we soon reached the bottom again. I went to get on the four wheeler and Edward reached out and pulled me back.

"Hey baby, can I drive back?" he asked me.

I looked up into his sad puppy dog eyes and couldn't resist him. "Sure, just don't go fast okay? It's really hard for me to trust another driver. The one time I did, he ended up flipping us over. Not a great experience, ya know?" I told him seriously

"Bella, I promise to be careful, okay Baby? I wouldn't do anything to put you or Gracie in danger," he told me, just as serious as I was. That made me feel tons better about the whole thing.

I motioned for him to get on and when he was settled I lifted Gracie up in front of him. I then sat behind him in trepidation while wrapping my arms tightly around his waist. I knew he promised, and I was trying to trust him but I kept having flashbacks to the last time I let someone else drive. I had been riding behind Gracie's dad, James, and he was being cocky about taking a hill, when he went too fast at the wrong angle, he flipped the four wheeler over on top of us. I was just thankful that we didn't get hurt beyond a couple of bruises and he ended up with a broken wrist.

Edward caught those thoughts of mine and reached up to squeeze my hands before putting his back on the handle bars. He started us off slowly and kept at a steady, even pace. The longer we traveled the better I felt. I loosened my grasp on him a little, so that I was no longer trying to strangle his waist in my arms.

We were nearing the barn when I came to the conclusion that sometimes you have to trust the one you care about to take care of you. You have to have faith in that person to see to your needs and do what is right for you. As I realized this I quickly wrapped my arms underneath his and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you so much for helping me with this. It was so hard for me to give over that control to you, especially after what I had been through before, but I am so glad that I did." I thought to him quickly.

"Your welcome Bella. I'm glad that you placed your faith and trust in me. I know it sounds funny to say that over a ride on a four wheeler, but I also feel like it meant more, ya know? I just hope I'm right. I trust you too you know? It's also hard for me to trust people, but I want to learn with you." he thought back to me as we pulled under the shelter.

He parked the four wheeler and cut the engine. We sat there a moment, realizing that our time together was coming to an end for the day. I scooted closer with that thought. I really didn't want him to go. I truly enjoyed his company.

Sighing sadly, I slipped off the four wheeler and watched as he carefully sat Gracie down on the ground and held her steady before she went running out to the yard to play with the dogs. I stood to the side and waited for him to get off of the four-wheeler. When he was standing beside me, he reached out and grabbed my hand and pulled me close to his chest. Leaning down, he buried his nose in my neck and breathed in deeply. He started kissing softly on my neck and made his way up to my lips. He nibbled softly from one corner of my lips to the other before sliding his tongue into my mouth. He explored for a bit before drawing back with a sigh.

"I don't want to leave," he said with a disgruntled sigh. "What are you doing tonight? Do you want to bring Gracie and come in with me to the shop? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. I'm just not ready to leave you yet." he asked me.

"I'll tell you what, how about I come in a little later and we'll bring you some supper? That way I can get the evening feeding done, Gracie her bath, and all. What would you like to eat?" I asked him.

"You don't have to make me supper, Baby. I just want you to come see me." he replied.

"I know I don't have to, I'm doing it because I want to! Isn't that what you told me just the other day?" I asked him with a smirk on my lips

"Fine then, if you insist on making supper, then just make what ever you guys want and I'll eat it. I'm not particular about food much," he told me with a smile.

"Okay, I'll think of something. So what time do you have free for supper? What time should we be there?" I asked him as we started walking back to the house. I looked for Gracie and saw her playing with Samson and Delilah over by her swing set.

"Well, hang on a minute," he told me as he pulled his iPhone out of his pocket. He quickly pulled up iCalendar and checked his schedule for the day. "I have an appointment scheduled from two until four thirty. I'll be free after that until six. You want to come in then? You guys can hang out with me and maybe we can work on your tattoo?"

"Yeah, that sounds fine," I told him as we neared his car.

I looked over and realized that my truck wasn't there. "Um, Edward, I think we're going to have to ride in with you now though. I forgot that we left my truck at your shop last night. I can grab it and head over to the store and pick up something for supper."

"Oh, yeah, I had forgotten about that too. Why don't you hop on in and we can go," he told me as he opened the door for me.

"Um, Edward, you do realize that I have to go get a car seat for Gracie to ride in and we have to get the dogs up and then I have to go change clothes," I told him while a smile played around my lips. "Can you hang on for a few minutes while I do those things? I asked him quickly.

"Sure, that's fine. Are you going to take Delilah with you today?" he asked me before calling Samson over to the car to get him loaded up.

"Yeah, if you don't mind. I just hate to leave her alone. Do you think she could stay at the shop while Gracie and I run to the store? I'll stop on the way back and pick her up." I asked him.

"Nah, that's fine. She's welcome anytime." he told me

I called her over so he could get her loaded with Samson. I brushed a fleeting kiss against his lips before rushing into the house to change clothes. I hurried into the closet and grabbed a pair of faded Levi's and a black tee shirt to put on. Dressing quickly, I went over to the bathroom to pull a brush rapidly through my hair. I decided to clip the front back and go. I was back out the door going to the car in seven minutes.

I called Gracie over to us and led her in to use the restroom before we left and to change her into some clean clothes because she had gotten a little dirty wrestling with the dogs earlier. Once she was ready, I pulled her long blonde hair up into pigtails and led her back out the front door to the car.

As I slid into the passenger seat after getting her buckled up in the extra car seat that I kept at the house, he looked over at me and said, "that was fast. I figured I would be waiting at least fifteen minutes or better."

I started laughing at him and told him, "I'm not your typical girl. I'm not obsessed over my clothes or looks so it doesn't take long for me to get ready. Gracie is easy too, because I just put whatever on her."

"That's good. Besides, I think that you're beautiful just like you are!" He told me with a wink.

I blushed lightly at his compliment before asking, "Can I smoke in here?" while starting to pull out a cigarette.

"Yeah, that's fine." he told me in reply.

I lit up as I sat back into the comfortable leather seat. He had a really nice car. It was a large SUV, a Toyota Sequoia to be exact. I was surprised at how roomy it was inside. Samson and Delilah fit easily in the back. Edward had converted half of the backseat so that it made a large platform for the dogs to lay comfortably on. He had placed Gracie's car seat on the other half behind me. Since I was sleeping last night I hadn't noticed anything about it at the time.

Edward started up the car and soon we were on the way to the shop. We chatted about his appointment later that day and about the supper that Gracie and I were going to bring him. I had decided on Chicken Alfredo. It was something that was relatively simple to make and tasted great. We pulled up in front of the shop and sat there for a moment while we finished our conversation. I started to open the door but Edward told me to stay. I was a tad bit confused, but I did as he asked of me. Soon, I found out why as he came around and opened the door for me. I smiled up at him as he reached in to grab my hand to help me out.

"You're going to spoil me if you keep doing all this for me." I told him as I stood beside him.

"Well, you deserve to be spoiled a little," he replied as he brushed my hair from my face.

"You say that now," I told him with a slightly disbelieving look on my face.

"And I'll always mean it." he told me with a look of truth on his face.

I reached out and gave him a hug while I thanked him. Pulling away from him I told him that I needed to head over to the store. He leaned in and softly kissed me before letting me go. I sighed in pleasure from the brief contact of his lips on mine. I reluctantly moved away from the shelter of his strong arms and turned to open the back door to get Gracie out. He stood there and waited for me to get her out before we walked over to my truck, Gracie bouncing between us.

I walked around to resettle Gracie in her seat and then went back to get in. Edward reached around me to open the door. I climbed up and sat there for a minute before reaching over to start the truck.

"Be careful, Baby," he whispered before closing the door for me.

I nodded to him before putting the truck in reverse and backing out of the parking spot. I got the truck turned around and looked back in my rear view mirror to see him.

Edward was standing in front of his shop with Samson on his right side and Delilah on his left. I wished at that moment that I had my camera with me so that I could take a picture to keep with me to remind me of that moment.

I pulled into traffic and navigated my way to Wal-Mart while Gracie and I talked about cooking supper for Edward. She was very excited to be able to help and was looking forward to going back to the shop that night. After finding a parking spot close to the door, I got her out and we held hands as we walked into the store. I let her pick out a cart and of course she chose the big blue children's cart, the one that was hell to drive, but provided a seat for her to sit in.

We made our way to the grocery section and soon I had all of the ingredients that I needed for the Chicken Alfredo. I also picked up the steaks that I wanted to marinate overnight. I plan on fixing them for supper tomorrow. I also got some snacks, bottled water, and a case of Mountain Dew. I had made it up to the register without running into anyone that was at the shop the night before, and I was thankful. I really wasn't in the mood to field questions about Edward and I, or our relationship, especially with Gracie right there.

I had just finished putting all of my things on the conveyer belt when I heard a throat clearing behind me. I turned to see Molly Pierce, the Pastor's wife, standing behind me.

"Hello Mrs. Pierce, how are you today?" I asked her while I was waiting for my groceries to be rung up.

"Oh, Bella dear, I'm doing well. How about yourself? I heard that you were at that tattoo parlor last night. Sweetie, you have to be careful of the company you're keeping, I would hate for a nice young man to hear that you frequent tattoo parlors and take your little girl in a place like that too! It turn him away from you! Why, that would be just awful!" she told me with a smile on her face, like she hadn't just judged my actions and found me wanting.

"Mrs. Pierce, you know that I don't judge people by their looks, and besides, Mr. Cullen is a very nice man. He has been nothing but helpful the times that I've needed it," I told her quietly.

It was about that time that Gracie decided to throw in her two cents with, "Edward is nice and he has a dog! Samson is big like Delilah and he is so funny! He likes to lick me!" she finished with a giggle.

I smiled down at her as I loaded the groceries back into my cart. I looked over at Mrs. Pierce with a smirk. I couldn't help it! My three year old had just put her in her place a little and I had really enjoyed it.

"Oh, Dear, I didn't mean to come off as being judgmental. I am just concerned with your reputation!" she spouted self-righteously.

"Well, don't worry about my reputation. I'll take care of that, myself." I told her, starting to get a little angry.

"Well, if you say so, Dear," she told me.

I finished loading up my bags, nodded to her and I pushed my cart away from the register. I paid no mind to any of the other people that I passed on my way out of the store. I was still fuming to myself about Mrs. Pierce as I loaded up the groceries in my truck and put away the cart.

I got Gracie in and then I paused by my door to light up a smoke before climbing up in the seat. Rolling down the window, I blew a long stream of smoke out before pulling out of the store's parking lot. It didn't take me long to get back to Skin Deep. I was looking forward to my evening of cooking for Edward and having supper with him.

I parked the truck before hopping out, getting Gracie, and going inside. It was almost time for the shop to be open, and Edward was busy in the stock room unpacking a box of ink.

"Hey Baby! I'm back!" I called out to him as I gave Samson and Delilah a pat. Gracie had run straight to them for her own hugs and kisses.

"Did you find everything that you'll need?" he asked me as he walked through the door.

"Yeah. Oh, I picked up some steaks for supper tomorrow. I would have grilled them tonight, but I like to let them marinate overnight. How do you like yours cooked?" I asked him as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"I'm a medium-rare guy, how about yourself?" he asked me as he wrapped his arms around me.

I smirked up at him and told him, "I'm a medium girl myself."

He laughed and told me that he was going to file that away for later use. "So, I was going to ask you later, but would you like to go out with me tomorrow evening? I know that tomorrow is Sunday, and not a normal date night, but I have Sundays and Wednesdays off."

"Yeah, that'll be great. I can call Alice and ask her if she can watch Gracie for me. Where're we gonna go?" I questioned him.

"I'm not sure yet. We could take Gracie with us, if you want. I don't want to exclude her, ya know? I like spending time with her too. Do you wanna see a movie, go eat, or both? Or we could find something else to do. Is there anywhere in particular that you like?" He queried.

"It all sounds good, so just surprise me," I told him. "I can put the steaks in the marinade tomorrow, instead of tonight. I'll also call Alice and see about Gracie staying over with her. If she can't we will take her with us. I just kinda want our first date to be just us. Is that wrong of me?" I asked him with a frown.

"Baby, that isn't wrong of you at all. You're a great mom and you deserve some time for yourself. We can take Gracie next time, OK?" He told me sweetly.

"All right, I'll be thinking about it and let you know when you come back later," he said while he played with strands of my hair, wrapping them around his long fingers.

Looking over at the clock on the wall, I saw that it was time for the shop to open. "Baby, it's time to open. I should really be going. We'll be back in a little while with supper. I hope everything goes great with your first session!" I thought to him while smiling into his warm, hazel eyes.

He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my lips before coming back more firmly. I ran my hands up his chest, over his nipples while pausing briefly to gently circle the barbells there, causing him to shudder from the effects it had on him. I smiled into his mouth while I pushed my hands into his long glorious hair. I wrapped my hands in it as he traced a path from my lips to my collar bone, nipping gently. I hummed in pleasure and he attached his sensuous lips, sucking lightly, to the hollow at the base of my throat. Unconsciously, I tightened my hold on him. I didn't want to let him go as memories from that morning came flooding back. Regretfully, I tried to move away from his warm, strong arms.

"Bella, what am I gonna do with you? You come in here, get me horny as hell and then try to leave me!" he teased in a whisper with a roguish smile.

"Tell you what Baby, I'll take care of that, not so small, problem for you . . . later! You have an appointment in a few minutes and I really don't want anybody walking in on us while said problem is being taken care of!" I teased him huskily in return.

You can bet your sweet ass that I'm gonna hold you to your promises!" he thought to me, while giving me one last kiss, before pushing me away from him reluctantly.

I decided to make haste in leaving, before we both got caught up in the moment and forgot that there was a client due in momentarily. Calling to Gracie and Delilah, I made my way to the door while Edward followed behind us. Once outside he walked me over to the truck and opened the back door for Delilah while I went around and put Gracie in her seat. After Delilah had jumped in Edward closed the door and leaned back on it. Looking around as I walked to him, I saw that his client hadn't arrived yet so I stepped up to lean against his big body. I couldn't help but notice the firm bulge in his well fitting jeans. He grabbed my hips and pulled me roughly against his body.

"Baby," he whispered roughly, "you're playing with fire here! If you want to make it home soon, then you had better take that beautiful, sexy as hell body of yours away from my horny as hell body, and get in this truck right now!" He emphasized his words by grinding his erection into my soft stomach.

Letting out a whimper of desire, I slowly ground against him, causing him to let out a guttural groan of longing. Moving quickly, I removed myself from temptation and jumped in the truck. I looked in my side mirror to see Edward standing there with his fists clenched, covering his eyes.

I felt bad about teasing him, yet at the same time, it made me feel powerful that I had that sort of effect on his body. I started the truck while looking at him, standing there, and wished that we were alone and had time right now to take care of him like I wanted to.

He finally lowered his fists and looked over at me and scowled as he caught that thought.

"Go Bella," he said stepping away from the truck.

I put the truck in reverse and started backing out of the space slowly. Looking over at Edward I saw him place two fingers on his lips and then waved them at me with a grin. I smirked before placing my fingers on my lips and returning the favor. Shooting him a brilliant smile, I pulled out of the lot and headed home.


	11. Chapter 11

Don't own Edward or Bella but I do own Gracie :D and the storyline! Thanks for your kind reviews everybody. It makes my day when I get everyone's kind words.

Chapter 11

I pulled over to check the mail before heading down my half-mile long driveway. There was the normal sales papers, a few bills, and a letter from my accountant. Lieberman, Rouch, and Rouch was the firm that I had decided to go with here in Colorado. They were located in Telluride which was only about a forty-five minute drive from Rico. Ms. Rouch had found several investment opportunities that she thought I may be interested in, and requested my presence next Wednesday at 1:30.

I huffed a little as I read the letter from her. I really didn't want to go in. It meant getting Alice to watch Gracie after the center closed and besides, Wednesday was Edward's day off. I was hoping to spend it with him, not in some meeting. I'd have to think on it. Maybe I could talk him in to going with me. We could always do something after my meeting. I would just have to figure out if I wanted to tell him about my money or not right now. It was definitely something to think on later. I put the letter down in the seat and drove up the drive way to the house.

Pulling in, I grabbed the groceries from the back after letting Delilah and Gracie out and we made our way into the house. I headed to the kitchen to put away the groceries while Gracie went to the restroom. I looked at the clock and decided that I had enough time to run check on the horses before starting supper.

I went over to the patio doors and looked out over the yard and barn. I loved looking out and knowing that it was all mine. It was so beautiful and peaceful here. I called Gracie to come with me before opening the door. I walked out behind her and lit up a smoke before I took her hand and led the way down to the pasture to see the horses. Luna and River came trotting over, nickering happily, to see us. I scratched them between the ears for a bit and gave them some love before leading them back to the barn. I quickly fed and watered them, with help from Gracie and went back to the house to start cooking.

Gracie and I started supper before she went to play in her room and I went to grab my laptop from my bedroom. When I walked in all I could think about is what had happened in this very room last night and this morning. Smiling like a giddy school girl, I grabbed my laptop and went back to the kitchen.

I sat at the bar and checked my e-mail. There were the ever present junk mails, wanting to know if I needed penis enlargement, and my all time favorite of some random person in Africa or somewhere who was willing to give me all of their money. I laughed at those before moving on to the one from my mom. She didn't have much news, just rambled on a bit about the weather and such. There was nothing there that was too pressing really. I did have a new update from my fan-fiction site. After stirring the food on the stove, I settled down on my barstool to read the latest chapter. I had almost finished reading when I got the notification of new e-mail. I had to look, it was like a odd compulsion of mine. Even though I knew that more than likely it was going to be junk mail, I still had to go see what it was. I was happily surprised when it was from Edward.

He wanted to know if I would like to go to a local restaurant or if I wanted to go out of town. I sent him a quick reply that it didn't matter. I would be happy with whatever he chose. I'm really not that picky about it. I let him know that supper was almost done and that he should really be in the middle of a tattoo session, so why was he e-mailing me? I hit send before going over to the stove to pull the Chicken Alfredo together. It smelled so delicious and I couldn't wait to eat. I threw some garlic bread into the oven and set the timer before going out on the porch for another smoke.

I sat there in my swing and looked down at my nails. I'm going to have to go in for a fill-in soon, I thought to myself. I debated over whether to have them painted or to have the french manicure done again. Since I couldn't make up my mind, I figured that I would just wait until I got to the salon to figure it out. It's what normally happens with me anyway. I had just finished the last of my cigarette when I heard the timer going off in the kitchen.

I moved quickly to get the bread out before it burned. Once I had it out and cooling, I hunted up some containers to carry the food in. After a few minutes, I had everything packed up and was ready to head back to the shop.

I knew that I would probably end up staying there until closing, so I packed up Gracie's and Delilah's stuff to take with me again. After getting Gracie and everything in the truck, I called Delilah over and got her in the truck. It was a short trip back to the shop and I was happy that the food would still be nice and warm when I got there.

I pulled into my normal spot and unloaded Gracie before getting out all of the food I had brought. Delilah was happy to be able to see Samson again. I believe she was becoming just as attached to him as I was to Edward. I smiled as I walked through the door and she immediately walked over to nuzzle at Samson before settling down next to him. I swear it's like she had been coming to this shop all of her life and not just the last few days.

Gracie followed me as I took the food into the office at the back of the shop and set it on Edward's big desk. It was nice enough, but still needed some personal touches to make it truly his. There was the big desk and chair that had been left here from the last people who owned the building. He had his laptop set in the middle and a few drawing pencils and some pens scattered on it, but that was about it. Over in the corner he had his drafting table set up where he could sketch designs with a tall stool in front of it.

I hadn't seen him yet and caught his thought to me that he was almost finished."Hey Baby, can you go into the stock room and grab me some gauze? It's in the second cabinet from the door on the right. Third shelf down on the left. I forgot to bring some in here and I will need it in a few minutes," he thought to me.

"Sure Baby, it's no problem," I thought back to him as I took Gracie by the hand and made my way out of the office.

I walked down the hallway, passing the tattooing rooms that were directly across from each other and made my way to the end of the hall. There was a door there that opened up into the stock room. I easily found it and grabbed a few boxes of gauze along with some tape that I spotted on the shelf above it. Gracie carried a box of gauze for me as we went back to find Edward.

With my arms full, We went back down the hallway to find him. I followed the sounds of his tattoo gun and found him in the first room. I knocked gently on the door before opening it and going inside with Gracie trailing after me. Edward looked up and smiled brightly at us.

"Thank you for helping bring the gauze, Gracie," he told her while smiling at her.

"Your welcome," she said as she ducked her head shyly before coming over to stand next to me.

Edward looked at me and smiled his brilliant smile. I returned his smile before I said hello to his customer. It was Dalton Matthews, one of the guys from Newton's Feed, who had loaded my truck the other day.

"Hey Dalton, how's it going?" I asked him as I led Gracie over to the cabinet that Edward indicated with a nod of his head.

"Doing great Bella, how 'bout yourself?" he replied before wincing at a sharp pain from the tattoo gun. "What're ya'll doing here today? Ya'll helping Mr. Cullen out?

"Yeah, you could say that," I told him while I smirked over at Edward.

"Mr. Matthews, I asked you to call me Edward. You really don't want to upset the guy who is holding a tattoo gun to your skin right now, do you?" He good-naturedly teased Dalton.

"Sorry Edward! And your right. I really don't want to do that. I could only imagine what my deer would turn into . . . why he might have hair bows instead of horns!" he said with a laugh.

Edward just smiled before getting back to work, putting the finishing touches on Dalton's deer tattoo.

"Do you mind if I get a closer look?" I asked him. I was curious to watch Edward tattooing up close, but didn't want to offend Dalton if he didn't want me to watch.

"Naw, come on over and see. Edward here has a real light hand. Well, most of the time anyway! So far this has been the least painful tat that I've gotten!" he exclaimed excitedly.

I walked over with Gracie to watch for a moment. Dalton was getting a Buck tattooed on the left side of his ribs. It was beautiful, almost lifelike. I felt so proud of Edward's talent at that moment. He was a true artist.

"Looking good there Dalton! Edward's almost finished," I told him looking up. "Do you have many other tattoo's? I haven't noticed them before."

"Yeah, I have an eagle across my back and a tiger on my calf. I just don't go around here advertising them, ya know? What with this town being so small, a lot of the folks here don't take well to tattoos. But, I love them so I compromised." he told me with a little grin.

"Yeah, I know what you mean 'bout that," I told him softly as I ran my fingers through Gracie's hair.

"You have any tattoos?" he asked me.

"A few. Like you, I keep them covered." I told him with a small frown. I hadn't really meant to let him know that, but it just slipped out. He was the first person in this town to ask me about it and I didn't think before answering.

"I think we should revolt!" He said with a hearty laugh. "Seriously though, I bet there are more people here who have 'em, but like us they keep them hidden."

"I bet your right about that Dalton." I told him before moving to the side to be out of the way.

Edward had finished the tattoo during our conversation, and asked me to grab him some gauze while he cleaned the tattoo one last time with the antiseptic wash. I grabbed a box back out of the cabinet and handed it to him after opening it.

"Well, Guys, We're going to head back out to check on the dogs. I'll talk to you later Dalton!" I told them before leading Gracie from the room.

I went back up to the front counter before going over to sit on the couch. Gracie followed me and sat beside me as I pulled one of the photo albums that had some of Edward's original artwork in it. They ranged from angelic to downright scary! But what really came through was the skill of the artist. They were all wonderful. Gracie was full of questions that I tried to answer about all of the tattoo's in the pictures. Once she was satisfied, she went over to color while laying against Delilah. I was trying to think of what I wanted next and was lost in thoughts of designs ranging from fairies and Celtic symbols to Chinese lettering. I was a little surprised when Edward and Dalton came walking into the room from the back.

"Bella, can you come over here for a minute? I can show you how to ring this up, if you'd like." Edward asked me.

"Okay," I said as I got off the couch.

It really was a simple process. The software was installed on the computer and you just had to input the customer's info and then what the tattoo was of and how long it took, and that was mostly just for record keeping. Add the price and you were done.

I watched as Edward went over the aftercare sheet with Dalton one last time and reminded him to come in for a touch-up in three months. Dalton said his goodbye's and left the shop with a smile on his face.

Edward turned to me with a grin and swooped in to plant a kiss on my lips. After a few minutes of some light petting, he pulled back and asked me where the food was.

"I'm starvin' Baby! What did you decide to feed me today?" he asked as he went over to get Gracie. She squealed in happiness as he swung her up into his arms before leading me back toward his office.

"We made Chicken Alfredo and garlic bread," I replied with a laugh.

When we got to the desk, I uncovered the food and the delicious smells wrapped around us, causing us to moan in delight. I made a plate for Gracie first and got her seated on a stool at the end of the desk before I piled food on his plate. I handed it to him along with a Mountain Dew.

"Dew good? Or would you prefer water? I have that too." I asked him.

"The Dew is fine. It's what I normally drink if I'm not drinking water," he told me as he grabbed his plate.

"I think I've died and gone to heaven!" he said in appreciation after he took his first bite of the savory food.

I sat perched his knee while we ate, as there wasn't another chair in here. It was a little tight, but we worked it out. I hadn't even finished my plate before Edward reached out to get a second helping. We sat there, talking about our day and Gracie chattered away about what she wanted to do this evening. She was excited to be here, that's for sure.

"Baby, this is so good! You can cook for me anytime!" he said playfully after he had taken another bite of his food.

"Well, maybe I want you to cook for me, instead!" I told him, pretending to be angry.

"I'll cook for you anytime you want Baby, but it's nowhere near this good. That I can promise you!" he said with a laugh.

I love that we laugh a lot and pick playfully with each other. It's been quite a while since I had laughed as much as I have with him lately.

"Yeah, me too Baby," he thought to me while he gave me a one armed hug.

I draped my right arm over his shoulders, giving him a quick squeeze before leaning in to kiss the top of his head. We were so comfortable sitting here, just enjoying the quiet in between Gracie's chatter as we ate our supper.

I finished before Edward did and I started to get up off of his knee. I knew that it was bound to be getting tired by now, but Edward quickly set his plate back on the desk before grabbing me by my waist and pulling my back down.

I landed back on his knee with a soft "umph".

"Edward, let me up. You don't have to keep holding me here. I know your leg has to be tired by now," I told him as I struggled lightly to get back up.

"Why don't you let me worry about my knee and you keep your sweet ass sitting where it is!" he growled roughly at me while shooting a quick look over at Gracie to see if she was paying attention.

"Fine!" I huffed at him. "As you said, it's your knee. Just don't blame me when your whole leg goes to sleep and you fall on your face when you try to get up!"

I tried to keep the smile off of my face and pretend to be annoyed at him, but it just wasn't working. I couldn't resist that handsomely smug smile of his as he pulled me back into his chest. We sat there for a few more minutes before Gracie finished her food and wanted to go back to her coloring. I cleaned her up and let her go. I watched her settle down with Samson and Delilah before I went back over and sat on Edward's lap again.

Turning to face him, I lifted my legs and draped them across his other leg, too. I wrapped my arms around his neck, while threading my fingers into his hair and scratching his scalp lightly.

I swear that man purred at me! I couldn't hold back the soft laugh as he pressed his head more firmly into my hands.

"Like that do you?" I asked him while continuing to scratch.

"Um, you have no idea!" he was practically groaning from pleasure.

He tightened his arms more firmly around me and pulled me closer, resting his head on my breasts. He turned me a little more and ran his nose over my nipple, making it instantly hard and causing me to gasp quietly.

I had to stop my ministrations to his head because I honestly couldn't think with his face pressed so close to my nipples. I was having flashbacks of his mouth wrapped around my pink puckered nipple and I moaned quietly at the thought.

I felt him shrug his shoulders at me, trying to get me to start scratching again. I tried, I really did . . . until he started nuzzling my hard nipple through my clothes with his lips. I could feel his hot breath cutting through the layers of clothing with ease, so instead of using my fingernails to scratch like he wanted, I used them to pull his face and mouth closer to my breasts.

I was so caught up in the feeling of his hot mouth only millimeters from my wanting flesh, that I didn't notice his hand pushing my shirt up until he moved that wonderful mouth of his away from me. I protested lightly until I realized that he had yanked my bra down. I wasted no time in guiding his mouth to my nipple. He ran his tongue over it before sucking it into his mouth. I started squirming on his lap as he cupped my breast in his hand while he nibbled on the nipple.

After a few minutes, I gently pulled his mouth up to mine. I really wanted to continue what we had started, but the mom in me knew that I was being really irresponsible right now. I reluctantly pulled away and started to fix my clothing. "Baby, I'm sorry. We just can't right now. Gracie is out front by herself and I really need to go back out there," I thought to him.

"Bella, it's OK. I knew that we couldn't go much past where we were. I understand Baby. We will pick this up later though!" Edward thought back to me while he brushed a soft kiss across my lips.

I just nodded in agreement before I removed myself from his lap. We started to clean up the remains of our supper when we heard the bell on the door ring. Edward quickly went to see who it was while I finished up.

I listened as Edward greeted whoever it was, then asked them to fill out the routine paperwork. I decided that I really should go to the restroom to clean up a little. As I walked into the hall I saw Edward holding Gracie to his chest while handing the man's ID back to him and saw it was the guy who worked at the Wal-Mart in town. I wasn't sure of his name, but remembered seeing him there from time to time. Getting my sappy smile under control, I nodded my head at them before going into the restroom.

After finishing up in the restroom I went back out and saw that Edward was standing behind the counter, still holding Gracie, while the customer was looking at some designs on the wall. I walked up to him and stood beside him. I asked Gracie if she wanted to come to me but she just shook her head and snuggled into Edward's chest while she stared at the customer. I thought an apology to him for our little after noon delight, though I really wasn't too sorry about it, just about the fact that we had to stop when we did. He thought back to me that he was okay with it and he truly didn't mind either.

I gave his fingers a quick squeeze and asked him if he was OK with Gracie before I left him standing there. I had to go back to the office to find somewhere for the food and went nosing around the other rooms. I found a small refrigerator and a microwave in the room that had a copy machine in it. The room was really more like a large closet, but it worked for what Edward needed it for. I got the food and put it away in the refrigerator, and went out front.

I collected Gracie from Edward. She was very reluctant to let him go, but I eventually talked her into it by promising her that she cold hold him again once he was finished with his customer. Once he left the room I got her set up with a video and her coloring books before I sat at the desk and decided that since I was here I may as well help. I started answering the phone, booking appointments and just having fun.

Gracie eventually fell asleep curled up between Samson and Delilah, so I picked her up and moved her to the couch. She snuggled into the pillows when I covered her up and gripped her wolf stuffed animal to her chest before settling back down to sleep.

The night quickly passed and it was soon time to close. Edward was impressed that I had talked so many people into booking appointments. I just smiled at him and shrugged my shoulders. I knew that just because I had booked the appointment, didn't mean that they would actually have anything done.

I had let the dogs out a couple of times that evening. They were ready to go whenever we were. I told him that I had put the rest of supper in the fridge and that it was fine to leave it there for him to have another time. He agreed and went over to get Gracie for me while I gathered her things together. Once we were ready, we made our way out of the shop.

I loaded Delilah up in my truck while Edward put Gracie into her seat. I watched as he gently settled her in and buckled her up. He brushed a kiss across her forehead before he quietly closed the door. He went over and put Sampson in his SUV. He met me back at my door and pressed his hand against it, keeping me from opening it.

Looking up at him, I could see the question in his eyes. Then I heard the question in his thoughts. He didn't want to leave me and wanted to ask me to come to his place this time, but wasn't sure how to ask. I gently reached up to cup his cheek. He pressed his face into my palm and finally whispered the question that he had been thinking about all night.

"Bella, will you come stay the night with me?" he said quietly.

"I'd love to Edward," I told him in the same tone of voice. "I'll follow you," I told him and I finished with "anywhere" in my thoughts.

Of course he heard my thought and pulled me in for a quick hug. He pulled back after a moment and opened the truck door for me so I could get in. I climbed up and dropped a quick kiss on his lips before buckling up. He closed the door and gave me a little wave before getting in his car. I would truthfully follow him anywhere.

:D Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)


	12. Chapter 12

Don't own, blah de blah. Wish I did. Really! Stephanie Meyer owns all things Twilight and I am once again just playing with her wonderful characters! Sorry I didn't update yesterday. Was just having a lazy Sunday at home and reading other fics!

Chapter 12

I followed him to his house while smoking a cigarette. Pulling up to it I saw that it was a nice split level home. Getting out, I gathered Gracie into my arms and walked behind him up to the front door as Delilah followed Samson around the yard. I wasn't really worried about her straying, but the fenced in yard made me feel better.

Edward opened the door and motioned me inside. I looked around and noticed that there were no boxes left. Everything was neat and in its place. Following him into the living room, I saw his enormous TV. It had to be five feet across and was a flat screen. It made me feel a little better about the thirty-six inch plasma that I had ordered the other day. I was waiting for it to be delivered. Maybe Edward could help me put it up I thought to myself. He looked over at me and nodded his head.

"Thanks Baby!" I told him with a smile.

"Bella, you should realize by now that I will do just about anything for you." he said to me quietly.

I walked over to him and wrapped my arm around him while snuggling into my favorite spot. "I'm coming to realize that more and more, Baby. I'm the same. If you ever need anything, let me know. I'll do what I can to help out."

"Yeah, I know you will. Just look at all you have done for me already!" he said.

We stood there for a moment, lost in the peaceful feeling of being wrapped up in the others arms. Edward finally let me go and asked if Gracie would be alright sleeping in the guest room. I nodded my head and followed him upstairs to the room and waited while he turned the covers down. Realizing that it had been a while since Gracie had been to the restroom, I knew that she would have to go before I settled her in bed. The last thing I wanted was for her to have an accident in his bed. He showed me where to go and I helped Gracie take care of her needs before carrying her back to the bed. She was still very groggy, but alert enough to know that we weren't at home. After explaining that we were staying with Edward for the night, she smiled brightly before her eyes drifted closed again.

I lay there with her for a few minutes to make sure that she was asleep. Gracie was such a heavy sleeper that once she settled in, she wouldn't wake up until the next morning. That made me smile when I thought about all of the things that I had done in the past to try to wake her up when she had gone to sleep to early in the evening. I quickly learned that it really was a lost cause, and let her sleep. Even when she would fall asleep early, she would still sleep until at least six or seven in the morning.

I eased out of the bed and tucked the covers around her before I went to join Edward in the kitchen. He asked me if I wanted anything to eat or drink.

"Um, do you have any water? Oh, and do you think we could go out for a smoke before bed?" I told him with a laugh.

"Yeah, we can do that. If you want to go ahead, the deck is through that door there. I'll grab your water and be right out," he told me pointing over to the door.

I walked out on his deck and found a cushioned love seat. I sat down and lit up my cigarette. Edward soon joined me on the seat, while handing me a bottle of water. I thanked him before taking a quick drink. I sat the bottle on the deck at my feet before settling against Edward's side. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in close. We sat there, smoking and enjoying the view for a while.

I had ended up with my legs draped across his and halfway in his lap by the time we decided we should head to bed. I still had to get up early to go home and feed the horses and since Edward was off tomorrow, I planned on asking him if he wanted to ride a little before our date.

"You never did let me know where we are going tomorrow for our date." I told him in a quiet voice as we walked back in the house. "I called Alice and she said that Gracie could stay with her tomorrow night, so we are good there."

"Well, it's because I really don't know of any places around here to go to. I thought I would ask you about local places or see what I could find about places online. Be thinking on it and we'll talk more about it in the morning. Hey, do you mind if I come help with the horses in the morning? I really like spending time with them," he told me.

"Sure, I was actually going to ask if you wanted to go riding tomorrow. Maybe around lunch time? We can start you in the paddock and when your comfortable, we can move out and follow the trail we took on the four-wheeler yesterday." I told him.

"That sounds like a great idea!" he told me excitedly.

I couldn't help but smile at the big grin on his handsome face. He grabbed me by the hand and led me in to his big bedroom. I was surprised at the size of it because the house didn't give the appearance of being that large. In the center of the large room was a king sized bed. Here was a man after my own heart! I thought joyfully. I loved having a king sized bed. It gave you plenty of room to move around.

I heard a light snort from Edward, who was standing behind me. I turned slowly to him with an arched brow.

"And what Sir, are you snorting at?" I said.

"Oh, nothing, Love" he said slowly. I turned back around and heard him say "plenty of room to move around in," with a smirk in his voice.

Whipping back around I just stared him down for a moment. "You weren't complaining last night, now were you?" I asked him archly.

"Oh, I'm not complaining now Baby . . . I like the thought of plenty of room," he said once again with his arrogant smirk firmly in place.

"Well, you know, we could always make use of all this room," I trailed off, hoping it came out seductively.

I must have succeeded somewhat, because I heard a low growl come from his chest as he swiftly gathered me in his arms.

We spent a lot of time that night getting to know each other on a very personal basis. We finally fell asleep around two that morning, wrapped up tightly in the other.

I had forgotten to set the alarm on my phone to wake me up, but I needn't have worried. The bright stream of sunlight coming in the window landed right in my eyes. I squinted my sleep bleary eyes, trying to make out where I was. I looked around at the beige walls and felt Edward's arm tightening around my waist. I inspected all of the furniture carefully. It was simple, hardwood furniture. He had a sleigh bed with a solid headboard. It was a dark cherry color, that went well with the walls. I really liked the simplicity of it. He also had what looked like a twenty-seven inch flat screen TV mounted to the wall across from the bed.

I felt the sudden urge for the facilities as he squeezed my waist again. I gently lifted his big arm from around me and slid out of the bed. Once I had finished, I went to check on Gracie and saw that she was still sound asleep. Going back to the bedroom, I walked back up to the bed. I crawled up and kissed his cheeks, nose, and forehead before making my way to his lips. He grumbled a bit before opening his eyes to stare at me blearily.

"Baby, come back to bed. It's a God-awful time of the morning!" he said as he tugged on my hand.

I hated to refuse him, but it was already seven thirty and I knew I had to be going. "Edward, I have to get ready and go. I have to feed the horses. They're waiting for me." I reminded him gently.

"UGH! I remember now. Just give me a minute, and I'll be more coherent," he said with a small smile playing over his mouth.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to," I told him quietly. I didn't want him to be upset with losing sleep.

"Nah, Baby, I want to!" he replied as he tossed the covers back and climbed out of the bed.

I had to forcefully remove my eyes from his well defined ass as he made his way to the bathroom. Lord, help me! I wanted to attack his body again.

I heard his laughter coming from the bathroom, and I decided that turn about was fair play. I leaned back against the pillows, legs spread slightly, with the left one bent at the knee. I pulled my hair up to flow across his pillows so that I could get my hands in there easily. Once I finished, I tucked them behind my head.

I heard him moving to the door of the bathroom, and I waited excitedly to see his reaction. He opened the door and walked into the bedroom. When he glanced up, he froze on the spot. I saw his manhood twitch before it started growing before my eyes. I smiled smugly at him, intending to move from the bed. He was quicker than I was though, and within seconds he had me pinned underneath his hard body. I felt his erection pressing into my hot, wet folds and couldn't help but press against him.

"I thought you had to go?" he growled roughly at me as he maneuvered himself to slide into my wetness. I gasped lightly and met him thrust for thrust.

"I was planning on it," I raggedly answered between gasps. "But, I think this is a better idea!"

He quickened his thrusts and it wasn't long before we both came to completion. We held each other for a bit before I forced myself to leave his bed. I cleaned up quickly before grabbing his tee shirt from on top of the hamper and putting it on.

I went back into the bedroom to find him in his boxer's, looking through the drawers of his chest. He found a pair of button fly jeans and slipped them on before looking up at me. He looked amazing standing there, those jeans slung low on his hips and his chest bare. His hair was flowing down his back and he reached up and tucked in the right side before groaning at me.

"What?" I asked him, a little confused.

"Baby, is that my shirt?" he wanted to know.

"Yeah, I found it on top of the hamper. I hope you don't mind. I just didn't think I should come back out here naked, ya know?" I told him as I walked over to pick up my jeans off the floor.

He startled me when he was suddenly right behind me, as I was still leaning over to grab my jeans. He ground himself against me quickly, before backing away.

"That's such a turn on, seeing your ass peeking out beneath my shirt when you bend over!" he stated. "We need to get out of this room before we end up in the bed again!"

I agreed and hurried to get my clothes on while he went to the kitchen. I didn't really want to part with his shirt, so I just put my bra on and then pulled it back on. It hung to my knees, but I really didn't care. It smelled just like him and I was in heaven surrounded by it.

I pulled my socks and shoes on and went to find him. He was in the kitchen at the stove, frying some eggs and bacon. It smelled wonderful and I told him so. He looked over at me and grinned while replying that he had promised me that he would cook for me. Since it was almost finished, I left him there so that I could go wake Gracie.

She finally decided to join the living and I carried her in to use the restroom before changing her clothes and getting her ready for the day. I led her back into the kitchen where she sleepily walked over to Edward and wrapped her little arms around his leg. Grinning he bent over and scooped her up into his strong arms and cuddled her against him. She took that opportunity to bury her nose in his neck and try to go back to sleep. It really was an adorable sight.

When the food was finished, he walked over and sat at the table with her in his lap. He finally got her to wake up enough to eat and turned her around on his lap. She leaned against him while she ate her breakfast and I just watched them both as I ate.

After we finished breakfast we piled into the truck to go back to my house. Once there, we got busy taking care of the horses. It didn't take long before we finished. Once we were done, I had Edward lead River out to the hitching post near the tack room. I showed him how to tack up River before we lead him out to the paddock. I held River's bridle while Edward gingerly climbed up into the saddle.

Grinning down at me, he sat up straight in the saddle. I adjusted the stirrups for him, and handed him the reigns. After a few quick laps around the paddock, it seemed that he didn't need as much help as he had let on. I left him there, riding around, while I went to saddle up Luna.

Soon we were on our way, Gracie riding in front of me. We were riding slowly along the trail, while Samson and Delilah walked along behind us. I couldn't keep my eyes off of Edward. He seemed so at ease sitting atop River. They seemed to really have bonded over the last few days that Edward has been coming over. I smiled while looking at him yet again. He caught it and smiled back.

We arrived at The Thinking Spot and dismounted. Climbing carefully, we made it to our stone seat and sat together like we had before, enjoying the view. I was wrapped up in Edward's arms again and I leaned back into his chest while turning my head to trace my lips under his chin. I could feel the stubble under my lips and reached my tongue out to feel the abrasiveness of it. I could feel him smiling and smiled in response. He looked down at me, those green eyes of his sucking me into their emerald depths. I lost all sense of time, just staring up at him. Leaning down a little further, he rested his forehead against mine and we traded thoughts about our day. How much we were enjoying being together, how he really enjoyed me being with him at the shop, and where he was going to take me this evening.

Finally, he broke the silence between us but just barely as he whispered his plans to take me into Telluride to eat at a Chinese Restaurant that he had found on the internet. After that, we planned to wonder around the mall, just window shopping, and see if anything else caught our eyes to do.

I agreed that it sounded like a good plan and mentioned that we really should be going if we wanted to have enough time to get ready, drop Gracie off, and to do everything we wanted to do. He agreed and gave me a sweet kiss before standing us both up, Gracie in my arms.

Making our way back to the horses, we saw that Samson and Delilah had found them a patch of shade to lay in near them. Mounting up, I looked over and felt a band squeezing around my chest from the feelings that Edward stirred up in me. I was so in like with this man, and knew that it wouldn't be long before that could change into love. That scared me a little, I mean, once again what time we had known each other was so short, but it just felt so right to be here with him. I remembered what I had thought the first day that I met him, standing there by the dog food. That he could make me or break me. I now knew that it was the absolute truth.

We were riding side by side when the wind kicked up a bit, blowing our hair around our faces. I laughed as I grabbed mine and pulled it up into a pony tail. Looking over at Edward, he had a disgruntled look on his face. When I asked him what the problem was, he told me that his hair was starting to bother him. He made me think of a proud warrior, with his hair blowing back from his face. He sat the saddle with so much confidence and strength. His tee-shirt was snug against his massive chest and I could see the muscles rippling down his arms and across his abs as he moved with River.

I couldn't help but sigh with want as I felt myself get wet again. All this man had to do, was just be there, and he affected my body in all kinds of ways. I still wasn't used to my body reacting this way around him, but decided that I wasn't going to complain at all. He arched his brow at me as he rode a little closer to me, reaching out to grab my hand and giving it a squeeze. I just nodded my head at him, squeezing his fingers back. He moved over a little and smiled at me. We really didn't need words between us.

When we got back to the barn, we unsaddled the horses and took care of them before we went to the house. We parted ways there for a little while. We both needed to get ready. Edward was going to run home and meet me back here in an hour. We decided to leave the dogs here at the house while we were gone. They really wouldn't be happy staying in the car for so long and I had plenty of room in the house for them. With a quick kiss and hug, Edward left and I went in the house.

I got Gracie bathed and dressed before settling her on my bed with a cartoon turned on to keep her busy while I showered. I took a quick shower and wrapped a towel around me to go find some clothes. I chose a matching set of silky underwear that were emerald green and quickly slid them on. I decided to be a little girly tonight and put on a jean skirt that came to mid thigh. I also found an emerald green silk camisole and slid it over my head.

I dried my hair and put it up in a big clip. I knew it probably wouldn't last long like that, my hair was too heavy and caused my head to ache from the weight when I wore it like that. I still couldn't decide what shirt I wanted to wear over the cami. I searched my closet and drawers over before finally finding a cute little half-sleeved denim shirt. I decided it would do and went to find my sandals.

After I was ready I spent the rest of the time out on the deck smoking, Gracie playing on her swing set while waiting for Edward. I still had twenty minutes before the time he said that he would be back. I went and retrieved my laptop and took it out on the porch with me. I checked e-mail and read stories to pass the time in between glances at Gracie. I had gotten wrapped up in a story and didn't hear Edward pulling up to the house, or knocking on the door.

"You look beautiful, Baby," he said as he climbed the stairs to the porch.

I looked up startled to see him standing there with Gracie on his hip. My eyes took there time to travel over his body, taking in his clothing. He was in a black button down dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up and pushed to his elbows. He also had on these hot black button fly Levi's that fit him like a second skin. To complete the look were some black Doc Martins. Over-all he was lady-bit stirring.

I took a deep breath to clear my mind and closed my laptop. Sitting it beside me, I stood up and walked over to him, "you look great too!" I told him, sliding my arms around his waist.

I stood on tiptoe to reach his lips more easily, he helped me out by bending down slightly. A few kisses passed between us for a minute before Gracie decided that we had been standing still for too long. She started squirming in his arms wanting to be put down. Breaking our kiss, he leaned over to place her on her feet and we watched her run back over to the swing set. After watching her for a minute, we decided to head out. I called Samson and Delilah back in from the yard and put them in the house.

I went to Gracie's room to grab her overnight bag that I had packed earlier and I grabbed my purse before we went out to Edward's car. After handing me in like the gentleman he is, he put Gracie into her seat before putting her bag in the floor at her feet. He quickly climbed in the car and we got settled in and left. I gave him directions to Alice's house and within a few minutes we were there.

I took Gracie up to the door and let her ring the door bell. Alice quickly answered her door and greeted us with a smile. I thanked her once again for keeping Gracie for the night. She gave me a knowing look before leaning around me to wave at Edward. When he waved back at her, she turned to me with a smirk before leaning in to whisper in my ear how lucky I was. I quickly nodded my head at her, because I knew it was true. She gave my hand one more quick squeeze before herding Gracie into the house. I called one last goodbye to Gracie before I went back to the car.

The trip to Telluride was a pleasant one. We chatted about our likes and dislikes on everything from books to cars. Before we knew it, we had arrived at the restaurant. The food was great and we really enjoyed the atmosphere. Edward left a hefty tip on the table before making his way up to the cashier to pay. I waited patiently for him and soon we were once again in the car.

We headed over to the big mall in town and walked around for a while. We visited several stores and I even talked Edward into coming into Bath and Body Works so that I could pick up some lotion in my favorite Black Raspberry & Vanilla scent. He was a good sport about it. I bought a couple bottles of lotion, shampoo, and body spray.

"Now I know why you smell so good all of the time!" Edward said as he looked at me and grinned.

"Yeah, I fell in love with the scent a couple of years ago and can't seem to get beyond it." I told him.

He grabbed my bag as we walked out of the store, so that he could carry it for me. Walking along, we passed a smoothie kiosk and I couldn't resist getting a strawberry daiquiri. I sipped on it as we walked along our hands intertwined. He leaned down and kissed my lips.

"Umm . . . tasty," he told me as he pulled away. I smiled up at him and gave his fingers a squeeze.

We walked past a pet store and I couldn't resist going inside. I ooh'd and ahh'd over all the cute little animals and found some treats and chew toys for Delilah and Samson.

We had left there and found our way into a clothing store. I found a cute strappy shirt that had a design of a dragon on the front. Edward insisted that I try it on so that he could see it. I frowned at him before leading the way over to the dressing room. Edward stood outside with my bags as I quickly changed into the shirt. I ran my hands over my chest and down over my stomach. I turned to look in the mirror to see the results. I liked the dark pink color against my skin. It also made my boobs look phenomenal. The bottom flared out gently so that it didn't hug any places that I didn't want it too. I smiled to myself as I opened the door. Edward looked over at me and his mouth actually dropped open a little. He stared for so long that I started to become a little self-conscious. I nervously fiddled with the hem while waiting for him to say something.

"Well, say something! Anything! You're making me nervous!" I told him anxiously.

"Wow! It's just, wow!" he mumbled to me.

I shot him a very large grin before spinning around. Stopping once again, I looked over and his eyes seemed to be stuck on my boobs. To test my theory, I moved a step to the right and then to the left. His eyes continued to be trained on my boobs. When I started laughing at him, he finally glanced up sheepishly to stare into my eyes.

"Sorry Baby," he said with a shrug, not apologetic in the least.

I just rolled my eyes at him before going to change back into my clothes. I folded the tee shirt over my arm before going out to Edward.

He grabbed it from my arm and went straight up to the cash register. I followed him, trying to grab the shirt back from him. Damn tall assed man! He of course, held it over my head before I could grab it. When we got to the register, he quickly put it down on the counter while pulling his wallet out.

"Baby! You don't have to buy that. I can buy it myself!" I huffed at him.

"Bella, I want to get this for you. To know, when you're wearing it, that I'm the one who got it for you!" he said forcefully as he paid the cashier.

I thought about what he said and decided that it wasn't that big of a deal. I stepped up to him as he turned triumphantly with bag in hand. I smiled up at him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He automatically wrapped his free arm around me.

"I'm okay with that," I told him quietly.

"Good!" he said and leaned down to smack my lips with a kiss.

He turned me around and we left the store to amble along. Looking around, I spotted a men's apparel store and tugged him inside. He complained a little, but I told him it was only fair that I got to get something for him. He relented when he realized that I wasn't going to back down. I looked around before spotting a shirt that was similar to mine, but it was black with a silver dragon that wrapped from back to front. I smiled as I asked him what size to get. He just grunted out an extra-large, tall if they have it. I smiled sweetly at him as I began to look through the different sizes. I was about to give up when I finally found what I was looking for, in the right size too!

I went and paid for his shirt while he continued to grumble a little. I paid him no mind at all as I made my way back out of the store. He walked up to me, taking the bag in one hand and my hand in the other. He smiled down at me as we walked off to an electronics store.

We spent a little while in there, browsing around. I found a few movies that I wanted to see, a couple for Gracie, and Edward picked out a couple for himself. We found out that we had similar taste in movies. We decided to have a movie marathon one day soon so that we could watch them all.

We ended up goofing around the mall for about three hours before we were ready to leave. I had so much fun with Edward. I'm not normally a mall going person, but with him by my side I didn't mind so much. There was no nervous first date jitters since we knew each other so well already. We walked along, hand in hand, wrapped up in each other. I really didn't pay attention to anyone else that we may have run in to.

We decided to go on home around seven. I had Edward stop at The Smoke Stop so I could grab a couple cartons of cigarettes. Edward got himself a carton as well before we went home.

When we got home, Samson and Delilah were so happy to see us. You would think that they had been alone for days, as excited as they were. We went with them outside and when they were finished they followed behind us closely as we went back in the house. I led the way into the living room and got comfortable on the big leather sectional couch. Edward sat next to me and the dogs jumped up to lay beside us. Delilah had her head on my lap and Sampson put his in Edward's. We shared a smile as we loved on the dogs, to make up for leaving them for all that time. Once they were happy with us again, they got down and went to lay together on Delilah's big dog bed in the corner.

Edward and I decided, mutually, that he was going to stay the night here. We got ready for bed and talked a while. I remembered about the appointment I had next wednesday, and asked Edward if he would like to go with me and he agreed. I decided to wait on telling him what it was for. I still had to think about it.

It wasn't long before we had settled in bed and drifted off to sleep in each others arms. Our days and nights continued like that. We would alternate nights at my house with some nights at his house. We tended to stay at my house more, just because it was easier with Gracie and because I had to tend to the horses. I would go in and help him in the shop, too. Most nights I would stay until around eight, when I would leave so that I could get Gracie in bed. He would come over after closing up the shop. We really did have a good routine going for us.

Wednesday finally arrived. Alice had agreed to keep Gracie until I could get home and I still hadn't thought of a way to let him know about me winning the lottery. You can't just drop that bomb on someone. I decided to just bide my time and wait until it came up naturally.

We were taking my truck, because I had to pick my TV up after my appointment. I had gotten a call from Best Buy asking if there was any way I could pick it up because they didn't have a delivery truck available to bring it. It was no big deal for me to swing by.

We were about half way to Telluride when my phone started to ring. I knew by the ring tone that it was my mother. I quickly answered and had to pull the phone away from my ear as she excitedly yelled.

"Bella, baby! How're you doing? How's Gracie? You haven't called me in a while! Have you thought any more about when you're coming home for another visit? I have someone that I want you to meet! How is the weather there? It is hot as hell here, as usual!" she rambled on.

I quickly broke in with a "MOM!" she finally quietened enough for me to answer her back.

"Mom, I'm great, Gracie is doing great, too! I may be coming home around Labor Day, sorry I haven't called in a while. The weather here is great by the way. Its warm but not kill you hot. As for the someone you want me to meet, the answer is HELL NO! You know me better than that Mom. I don't need you trying to find me someone." I told her in exasperation.

Edward quickly looked over at me with a small frown as he thought to me "Hell No, you are not meeting someone else! You, Sexy Ass, are mine! You can also tell that to your mom!"

I raised an eyebrow in question and he just nodded his head at me, urging me to let her know.

"So, anyway Mom, I actually have met someone. His name is Edward." I yanked the phone away from my ear, trying to preserve my hearing, as she started to shriek into the phone. Saying she is happy is like saying the sun is just warm. She was ecstatic that I'd met someone.

"Bella, baby, it's about time. I was beginning to worry about you honey. I do want more grandbabies one day."

"Mom, you're embarrassing me! He is sitting next to me right now and can hear every word because you are so damn loud!" I told her in a whisper.

She finally caught on and lowered her voice to its normal loud roar instead of her excited extra loud roar.

"So, when do we get to meet him? You know we have been meaning to come see you and the ranch for a while now. We could be out there tonight!" she started rambling.

"NO, Mom. You can't just show up at my house tonight. I'll talk to him and we'll come up with a time, OK? Will that get you off of my back for a while? I'll have the jet put on standby for you when we decide something. OK?" I questioned her again.

"Yes Darlin', that will do just fine. Give Gracie love for us!" she told me. "Well, I'm going to get off of here and let your father know the news. He is going to be so happy for you, too Darlin'" she said before hanging up on me.

I looked over at Edward sheepishly. He had heard the whole conversation through my thoughts and I was wondering what his reaction was going to be. My momma is a handful. She is loud and opinionated, but I love her . . . in small increments. He caught that thought and busted out laughing. I soon joined him because his laughter was so contagious. He ran his thumb over the backside of my hand for a minute.

"Bella, I would love to meet your parents. It would make me proud for you to introduce me as your boyfriend. I do have a question though, what did you mean about having the jet put on standby?" he questioned me.

"Um, well see, my parents and I share a private jet." I told him quietly.

"Oh, that's cool!" he told me quickly, not wanting to offend.

But, I could hear the questions in his thoughts. He wondered how we could afford a jet and then it made him wonder how I didn't work as he had really not thought about it before. I figured that this was the perfect time to let him know about my winnings.

"Baby, I can hear the questions in your mind. I'll let you know how I afford it. I really don't want to hide anything from you. I just don't normally tell anyone. I won the lottery when I was twenty. It was a huge lottery and I split it with my parents. I came out of everything with seventy-five million dollars. After investing and etc., I have closer to ninety million now. I'm actually meeting with my accountant today about some investments." I finished up quietly. I was curious how he would take the news, but I needn't have worried at all.

"Baby! That is awesome! Like fucking awesome! I'm so happy for you! I hope that you trust me enough to believe me when I say that the money doesn't matter. Before you say anything, let me explain why. The reason that I moved here to such a small town was to get away, be by myself, ya know? It doesn't matter if I never tattoo again. I don't have to work if I don't want to. I received a trust fund from my grandparents when I was 25. It's no where near what you have, but there is about ten million in it." he told me with an honest look upon his face.

"That is such a relief! I've been a little worried about it for a while. I found out the hard way that people will use you for your money. I have lost most of the "friends" that I had before I won. Everyone automatically assumed that I was going to be their meal ticket. I don't mind helping out people, but don't expect me to buy everything, without even asking. I just felt used, ya know?" I asked him. "I mean, there was one of my friends who actually took me to a car place, picked out a car and expected me to just write a check for it. Without even asking me! I walked away from her and haven't spoken to her since."

"That's bad Babe! I've had some experiences like that too, but nothing to that extent." Edward said, commiserating with me.

"OK, enough of this depressing talk!" I told him with a laugh. "My accountants office is just up here a ways. I'm meeting with Ms. Rouch. Hopefully it won't take very long and then we can run get my TV. Thanks for helping me with it, by the way."

He told me I was welcome as he guided us smoothly into the parking lot. I grabbed his hand as we walked up to the door. I saw how the sun made his skin glow through the swirls of ink and it made me want to reach out and trace the designs with my finger tips. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that there was time for that later, and reached for the door. Walking up to the desk, I let them know I was here for my appointment. I was immediately led to a large conference room to wait. Edward sat beside me as we waited the few minutes for Ms. Rouch to come in.

We were sitting there, Edward playing with my fingernails and fingers, when she arrived. I watched her as her eyes went straight to him. Tracing him over from his long hair and down his tattooed arms. And here we had yet another woman looking at him like he was a prime cut of beef, and they were starving. I cleared my throat loudly and she quickly looked over at me. I just arched a brow at her and watched the look of chagrin cover her face. She knew that she had been caught staring.

"Ms. Swan, thank you for coming in today. I have found a few opportunities that you may be interested in investing in. Of course, I understand that you may want time to think it over. Feel free to take the information home with you and I'll contact you next week to find out if you are interested. I do have some papers that I need your signature on today." She told me as she lay the folders in front of me.

I slid them over to Edward and she then started laying out the papers to sign. I quickly completed what I had come to do, and after shaking hands with Ms. Rouch, Edward and I left the office.

Before long, we were on the way home, my TV loaded in the back of the truck. I couldn't resist, and had to buy a new DVD and Blu-Ray combination player. I was excited to get home so we could get it put up and I could watch it. We stopped to pick up Gracie before heading to the house.

Edward backed the truck up to the front porch so that we could get the TV off easily. I watched in awe as he manhandled the TV from the truck to the living room. His muscles were bulging from carrying the heavy weight. Once he had sat it down in the living room floor, I cut the box open with a pair of scissors. Gracie was watching from her perch on the couch as we slid the TV out of the box. As he bent over to move the packing pieces, he roughly pushed his hair back behind one ear. I could see that his long hair was starting to bother him more and more. It just kept getting in his way. I looked him over, trying to imagine him with shorter hair and I have to say, that I liked what I was imagining! Edward looked up at me quickly before he grinned at me.

"So, shorter hair huh?" he asked me as he put more packing pieces into the trash bag he held.

"Well, it just seems to be bothering you a lot lately. Don't get me wrong, I like your long hair, but I would be just as happy if you had short hair. I like you, not just your hair Baby." I told him shyly. I wasn't sure how he would take what I told him.

"Honestly, I'll think about it. It is starting to bother me more here lately. I got ink in it the other day at the shop and had to toss out several pots of it because I couldn't use it after that. It's just that it's been long for so long, I dunno if I'd be willing to part with it now," he said while pulling the TV over to the wall that I wanted it hung on.

"Well, if you do decide that that is what you want to do, then you could always go to somewhere that donates to locks of love, ya know? That way you would be helping someone else too," I told him as I walked over to him. "It's just an idea. I'm happy if your happy!"

"I know Baby, and thanks for that," he said as he looked up at the wall. "Now, let's get this thing hung!" he said quickly.

I just nodded at him and we commenced to hang the TV. Damn thing was heavy too, let me tell ya. He definitely made it look light when he was carrying it in earlier!

A few hours later found us sitting on the couch, Gracie already in bed, staring up at the TV on the wall. We were just flipping through channels so we could see how it looked. Yawning widely, I snuggled in closer to Edward, getting comfortable.

"Come on Baby, let's get to bed. You're tired and so am I." He whispered in my ear. I shivered slightly from his lips brushing up against the sensitive flesh.

"M'kay," I mumbled drowsily against his chest.

He picked me up and carried me into the bedroom. I roused myself enough to strip my clothes off before climbing in the bed. Edward soon joined me there and I pressed myself up against his side before drifting off to sleep, at peace with where I was.

A/N So, some people have said that they are having a hard time picturing Edward with long hair. I have set this chapter up so that if most people want him to get his hair cut, I can tie it in later. Please let me know your feelings on it. :D smiles!


	13. Chapter 13

Stephanie Meyer owns it all people. I just wish I did! :) There is a lemon on the end I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 13

The days went by quickly and it was now the end of July. Edward and I had decided that he would go with me to visit my folks for the Labor Day holiday. They wanted to fly here to meet him, but I held them off about it. They finally agreed not to come, when they found out that he was coming home with me and Gracie.

Edward's shop was doing a brisk business. It was surprising, especially considering how small our town is. Word of mouth was leading people from surrounding towns to his shop. Everyone was raving about the skill and talent he had. We had worked out a schedule between us. I would come in and help out at the shop after feeding up the horses in the evenings. Normally, I was there by four every day after picking Gracie up from preschool. I continued to help him out with booking appointments and answering the phone. I also started to keep an eye on the supplies in the rooms and kept those stocked also. I was trying to talk him into getting someone in to help him, and he told me that he had talked to his friends Emmett and Jasper. They were pretty much ready to come out to visit at any time, and both were tattoo artists also. I was looking forward to meeting them.

I still hadn't figured out what I wanted for my tattoo. I had some ideas though. I knew I wanted it to have something to do with Gracie. Maybe her name with some kind of design. Hopefully I would figure it out soon. I really wanted to have it done.

The only upset we had been through in our relationship came from the day, a couple of weeks ago, that Lauren had come in to have a tattoo done. Since Edward accepted walk-in's she hadn't called to make an appointment. After she found out that I came in after four, she made sure to show up when he opened at two. Even though Edward disliked her, he wouldn't turn her away as a customer. He tried to treat her professionally, but she insisted on being too touchy-feely with him. I knew what was going on from his thoughts and it made me so pissed off that she would come in and try that shit on him. I was on my way to the truck within moments. I didn't plan on busting in, but I did plan on being there when she came out.

He remained aloof, only talking to her when absolutely necessary. Everything was going as well as he could hope as he finished up the generic flower design on her hip. She had her pants pushed down as far as she could, without showing her twat to the him and the world. He ignored her and her attempts, and I was proud of him for remaining professional even though I was pissed. I could tell that he was pissed at her too, but was trying to hurry her out of the shop. He sent her to look in the mirror and she squealed a high pitched sound that made his ears hurt it was so shrill. He was still sitting on his stool, waiting for her to come back over so he could bandage it. She walked back over and as he looked over to pick up the A&D she, all of a sudden, grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips. He automatically shoved her away and she landed in the floor with a thud. I heard him ask her "What the hell, Lauren?"

"Come on Edward, you know you're tired of that fat-ass. I mean, she even has a kid, too! Come on, you know you want me!" she said as she looked up at him, trying to sound sexy, but coming over as a tramp instead.

"You couldn't be more wrong Lauren. I don't want you! Not now! Not ever! The only woman I want is Bella! Gracie isn't an inconvenience, either. I love that little girl more than you could ever understand! I'm sorry, but you need to leave. Don't come back here anymore. Your business is no longer welcome."

By that time, I had been in the waiting area behind the counter for a few minutes before she came storming out of the room. I smiled smugly at her as Edward came up and wrapped his arms around me, picking me up with his hands firmly on my ass. I wrapped my fingers in his hair and sighed into his mouth as he attacked my lips with his. He eventually set me down and I turned to face Lauren.

"Sorry about that Lauren, didn't notice you standing there." I said with a small smile. "How do you like your tattoo?" I said as Edward stood pressed up against my back. She refused to answer me at all and just stood there and stared at us, hate bursting from her eyes.

Edward brought up the sales software and entered the info in for me. I turned to Lauren and told her that it would be one hundred twenty-five dollars. She pulled out her wallet and tossed the cash on the counter before snatching the after-care sheet and stomping out the door, never saying a word to either of us.

Turning to Edward, I started to laugh at her actions. He was still disgruntled over the fact that she had kissed him. He reached up and wiped his hand over his mouth yet again, trying to wipe away the feeling.

"Come here Baby, let me fix that for you." I thought to him, as I pulled his head down to mine.

Sliding my tongue over his bottom lip, I hummed in delight. Soft little nips were followed by stronger ones as our tongues dueled together in his mouth.

He looked at me for a moment, his hands cupping my face gently.

"Bella, I'm sorry. I didn't know she was going to do that," he said as he started to apologize.

I reached out and put my fingers over his mouth. "Baby, I heard it all. You know how our mind-link comes in handy sometimes, right? Well it helps that I could hear everything in your thoughts, but Baby, even if I couldn't do that, I would still trust you. I know you would never do anything to hurt me," I joked a little at first, but ended on a serious note, because it was the truth and I wanted him to know it.

He pulled me in for a hug, pressing my body fully against his big one. He started trailing his hands up and down my back, over my hips, before he slid his hands into the back pockets of my jeans.

I smiled up at him, before sliding my hands into his pockets. I yanked him against me with a soft moan. Standing there, surrounded by him, I wanted to spew out all of my feelings for him. I think I may be in love with him. No, I know that I love him! Now I just had to figure out a time that I could tell him that. I wasn't sure if he was ready for this. We hadn't really talked about the feelings side of our relationship. We had danced around it a little here and there, but never actually said how we felt. I know that I was afraid, myself, to put everything out there on the line. I think he may have been too, from what I had learned about his past.

I never did work up the nerve, and tried not to think about it too much, so that he wouldn't hear. That was a few weeks ago. I was having trouble keeping it to myself. I wanted to tell him. So I find myself here. Sitting at the counter at closing time. Gracie was staying with Alice tonight and Edward had just finished with his last customer and was cleaning up his work area. I thought about all of the small things that he did for me everyday. He would sometimes sneak out of bed in the mornings and He and Gracie would make us breakfast before I woke up. Then they would bring it in to me in bed. I loved the way he was always a gentleman, opening doors for me and such.

I sat there doodling on a piece of paper, while I waited for him to finish. I was lost in thought when he walked into the room, startling me a little. I looked down at what I had written. It was our initials intertwined together with the chinese symbol for forever behind them. I had picked up some knowledge of the chinese symbols while helping customers who were looking for ideas for tattoos.

Edward walked over and asked what I was doing. I tried to hide the paper, but he was too quick for me. He quickly slid it out from under my hand and looked it over. I heard his breath hitch in his chest when he realized what it was. He slowly looked up at me with a question in his soft green eyes.

"What's this?" he asked me softly.

"Um, nothing?" I questioned, praying he would let it go.

Apparently God wasn't listening right now because Edward just stood there with an arched brow.

"Bella, this is really good. What exactly does this symbol represent?" he asked me.

I knew that he knew what it means. He's the one who showed it to me the day I was looking.

I hemmed and hawed a bit before shyly answering him. "Um, it means forever."

He smiled this soft smile that I had never seen on him before as he walked around the counter. "Baby, I know it means forever. Is this the way you really feel?"

"Yeah, it is Edward. I think you're it for me. I can't see my life without you in it anymore," I told him in a whisper.

He reached out and grabbed my face in his large hands to turn it up to face him. "I feel the same way, Bella. I really do," he said as he looked away briefly. I saw him take a deep breath before turning his bright gaze on me again. "I love you Bella."

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as his words hit me. My heart was swelling out of my chest it felt like. I was just standing there, staring at him. He roughly cleared his throat before asking me to say something.

"Edward, I . . . I love you, too!" I told him before reaching up and wrapping my arms around his neck. I buried my nose in the warm skin of his throat, just breathing him in. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me back so he could see my face.

"Really? You really love me too?" he asked

"Yeah, I really do!" I replied.

He pulled me in roughly for a tight hug. It felt as though he was going to squeeze the air right out of my lungs, and I finally had to tell him I needed to breathe. He laughed roughly as he slowly loosened his grip.

Our mouths met slowly in a passion filled kiss. He traced my lips lightly with his tongue before he slowly slid it into my mouth, tangling it with mine. We stood there, hands running gently over each other as we dove head first into the rush of feelings that our declarations of love had caused. We settled down after a few blissful moments of touching. Gently pulling apart, we smiled softly at each other. He kept our fingers twisted together as he led me from room to room, turning off lights and making sure everything was good for the night. I didn't want to be far from his side and I could tell that he felt the same.

We got the dogs loaded up in Edward's SUV. Neither of us said a word. It was too painful to think about not being beside each other, even for the short drive to my house. Edward opened my door and handed me in. Reluctantly slipping his hand from mine, he quickly rounded the car to climb in under the wheel. The first thing he did, was to reach over and get my hand again. I squeezed his fingers gently before lifting his hand up to kiss his knuckles.

"I love you, Edward," I told him softly.

"I love you, Bella," he told me, as softly as I had.

We found our way into the bedroom at last. Edward led me over beside the bed and ran his fingers down my arms before moving to my waist. He pulled my shirt slowly over my head before tossing it to the side. He leaned over, placing his lips on my shoulder and began to leave a trail of soft kisses along the strap of my bra. My heart was starting to speed up, thinking about the pleasure that was coming. I raised up a little to reach the sweet spot under his ear. Licking it first, I then blew on it softly. I saw the goose bumps spread over his skin as I replace my tongue with kisses. His lips were trialing over the swell of my breasts, planting kisses as he went.

He reached behind me and unclasped my bra, letting it fall between us. Reaching up, he cupped my full breasts in his hands, sliding his thumbs across my nipples, making them tighten in response. I breathed his name on a sigh as he lightly licked at first one nipple and then the other. My hands were in my favorite spot, wrapped in his hair, pulling his head closer to my ample breast. He reacted by quickly sucking my nipple into his hot mouth, running his velvet tongue around and around the nipple. I started squirming against him. "

"Edward, please Baby!" I begged him.

"Please what? Tell me Bella. What do you want me to do to you, Baby?" he thought back to me.

I moaned out his name as he bit down on my nipple in demand. He released it from his mouth with a soft pop, looking up at me. "Tell me Bella, or I stop right now!" he demanded gruffly.

I felt the blush on my face at the thought of telling him out loud what I wanted from him. I knew that he would do as he said, so I drew in a fortifying breath before telling him, "I want you to bite my nipples and lick them while you're fingering me."

I heard him grunt as he quickly lowered his hands to the waistband of my jeans. Unsnapping the button, he unzipped them in a hurry before rushing to push them down my legs. He slid his hands up my legs, starting at my ankles. The electric feel of his hands had never left even after being together a while. His rough hands traced a path further up, over my knees and up my thighs, pausing here and there to stroke the skin as he placed kisses randomly along the way.

Finally, when I was ready to scream from the teasing touches, he brushed the long, artistic fingers of his right hand over my folds. I pressed against him, feeling the sparks flying between my heat and his fingers. It was like he was drawing them from deep within my body and I enjoyed it ever so much. He slid one long finger into my body while he took a nipple back in his mouth, biting down. I started to whimper softly, wanting more. Ever so slowly, he added another and then another finger. Finally, he curled all three into a hooking motion and pulsed them against my sensitive inner walls. I could feel him hitting my g-spot every other pulse and I knew he was playing with me.

"Edward! Dammit! Stop teasing me!" I growled at him.

"Oh Baby, I'm not teasin'. It would be teasin' if I didn't intend to follow through," he said as he hooked his strong fingers directly into my g-spot and started to pulse his fingers roughly against it.

I felt the bolt of pure desire land low in my belly as he did that and sucked hard on my nipples. It wasn't long before I felt my knees begin to buckle underneath me and I gripped his shoulder's tightly in my hands. He pushed against me to make me sit down on the bed. I scooted back a little so that I was in the middle. Edward crawled up my body to find my lips with his, his hand still buried deep inside me.

"What else do you want Bella?" he asked me before nipping at my nipples again.

"I want, . . . ungh . . . Edward, I want you. All of you! I want you to love me softly, and to take me so hard I can't walk. I just want you." I told him all in a rush.

"Your wish . . . my command baby!" he told me before settling himself over top of me. I felt the tip of his manhood hovering at my wet opening. I burned to feel him inside me. Reaching down, I guided his length between my dripping folds, running him over my clit before guiding him inside of me. We both moaned at the feeling. Edward peppered my face with kisses as he began thrusting inside me. He interspersed each with a whispered "I love you," before moving on to the next.

I wrapped my arms around his chest, underneath his arms, and wrapped them up over his broad shoulder's. I held on tightly as we moved in a rhythm as old as time. I chanted out his name and I love you as I was swept up in bliss with him as we both found our release in the other. Once he had regained his breath, he started to shift off of me, but I wrapped my arms tighter around him.

"Stay for a while longer, please?" I asked him.

I loved being surrounded by him, I felt so at peace, safe, and loved when I was wrapped in his arms. After a few more minutes he moved off of me and pulled me in closely to his side. Snuggling in, I kissed the spot on his chest that was under my head and told him again how much I loved him.

I felt sleep pulling at my tired body and mind, and as I was drifting off, I thought I heard him whisper "I love you so much Bella, and I do plan on spending the rest of my life with you."

I awoke the next morning to us wrapped up in each others arms, as usual. I looked up to see Edward staring down at me. "Morning baby, I love you." he whispered to me.

"I love you too, Edward," I told him. I was so happy that we had finally admitted out loud what I had been saying in my heart for weeks.

"Weeks huh?" he asked me with a smile

"Yep, weeks." I replied. I knew we had to get up soon and go tend to the horses so I slid away from the heaven of his arms and went to the bathroom. I started the shower before asking Edward if he would like to join me.

"Seriously, you, wet and naked? Is there any other answer other than, yes please!?" he teased me as he climbed from my big bed.

We spent some extra time in the shower that morning, worshipping each other once again before we finally got out and got dressed. Over the weeks, Edward had left some of his clothes at my house and vice versa. It was easier than going home each morning to change or carrying our shit from house to house. I admit, I liked the fact that he had shirts in the drawer with my tee shirts. It just felt right.

We did our usual routine of feeding the horses and dogs before going trail riding. We had yet to make it into the foothills for a ride but we had it planned for a couple of weekends from now. He was going to close the shop that Saturday, and we were going to camp out for the night. Gracie was so excited about the whole idea of sleeping in a tent that I had to limit our discussions about it until she was in the bed, because she would get so wound up she wouldn't go to sleep. I was excited about it, but a little nervous at the same time. I had never been camping before and I admit, I am a big wuss when it comes to thinking about the fact that there are bears and such that wonder around in the woods. I'm trying not to dwell on it though. I knew that Edward would do whatever it took to keep us safe and I trusted him with all my heart.


	14. Chapter 14

S. Meyer owns it all. Storyline is all mine!

I wrote most of this chapter today at work (shhh!) and this evening. I hope that you enjoy it! I had a behemoth of a chapter and decided to break it apart and then added the meeting of Em and Jazz into this chapter. :D

Chapter 14

BPOV

More days passed and we grew closer than ever. We had to reschedule our camping trip due to a special tattoo session that Edward was going to do. I was only a little disappointed, but I understood why he did it. Gracie was a harder sell though. She had a hard time understanding why we couldn't go anyway. We finally got her to understand that Edward had to work.

There was a customer that had called in from California. He had a friend who had come in to be tattooed by Edward, who bragged so much that they wanted to have their next tattoo done by him. Since they were coming so far, and could only come that weekend, I convinced Edward that it would be OK. We were trying to go before our trip to my parents house, but it just didn't work out. There were too many appointments and not enough time to reschedule them.

I kept telling Edward that he should hire another artist, and he finally told me that his friends Jasper and Emmett were going to come help out at the shop for a while. Until they could get here, I started spending more and more time at the shop helping out. I even learned how to do set up in the tattoo rooms, getting all of the equipment ready for Edward. It was really interesting to do and I really didn't mind. He did feel guilty when I ended up hiring a local teen to start coming in to do the afternoon feedings for Luna and River. He was worried that we were neglecting them.

I explained that Susen Brown had grown up on a local ranch and had lots of experience dealing with horses. She was really great about it too. She would be the one taking care of them for me when we went to my parents. I had used her help before whenever I had to leave town. She may have only been sixteen, but she was really mature for her age. I had utmost confidence in her and her abilities.

It was now the middle of August and Edward, Gracie and I were headed to Telluride to pick Jasper and Emmett up from the airport. I was a little nervous to meet them, but Edward told me that I had nothing to worry about. I drew in a deep breath as we pulled up into the parking lot. Edward walked around to open my door before getting Gracie out of her seat. He perched her on his shoulder's and grabbed my hand before we started walking toward the airport. He kept wiggling Gracie around before I heard him bitching in his head about his hair getting pulled. I just looked over at him and gave him a look and suggested that he find a place to get it cut if it bothered him that badly. He looked over at me sheepishly before shrugging his shoulder's and giving me a nod.

I think he was almost ready to do it. It had been getting on his nerves worse and worse and now that it was the middle of August, we were starting to feel the heat more and honestly, I was almost tempted to get my own hair cut. The one time I suggested it though, I thought he was going to have a fit. Apparently he really, really loves my hair being long. "Baby, what if I just take a couple of feet off? it will still fall around the middle of my back and it would be cooler and easier for me." I thought to him as we walked along.

"You know I like it the way it is, but if you really want to cut it, then I can let it go, it is your hair after all," he thought back while he shot me a lopsided grin. I nodded my head to him before I realized that we were already at the arrival gate. I looked around, but realized that we still had a few minutes before their plane would be unloading. I found us some seats and led Edward over to sit down. He reached up and pulled Gracie off of his shoulder's and sat her in his lap. She was so busy looking around at everything that she was being very quiet. I asked her if she was OK and she just nodded her head before snuggling up to Edward again.

When we noticed passengers starting to disembark, we rose from our seats. Edward handed me Gracie so that he could help with the guys luggage. We had just got turned back around when I saw the largest man I think I have ever seen in my life! I also heard a booming voice yelling out "Eddie! My Man!" I stood there, wondering what I had gotten myself into.

EPOV

Damn Emmett and his loud-assed self! I couldn't help but smile though as I walked over to my two best friends. I hadn't realized how much I missed the guys until I was waiting for them to get here. It humbled me a little when they both dropped everything to come help me out at, basically, the spur of the moment. I had only asked them last week and here they were! I saw Jasper standing quietly beside Emmett and reached out to give him a one-armed man-hug. Emmett caught me from behind and I swear the ass was trying to squeeze me in half. When we finished our hellos I turned to see Bella smiling at us with Gracie on her hip. I beckoned her over and I could see her cheeks started to brighten with her blush.

"Bella, I'd like to introduce you to my friends Emmett McCarty and Jasper Whitlock." I said as I pulled her to my by her hand.

"Emmett . . . Jasper, nice to meet you," she murmured quietly.

"Em. . . Jazz, I want you to meet Bella Swan and her daughter Gracie," I said as I pulled Gracie into my arms again.

"Hey Bella! How you doing?" Emmett said as he reached out and hugged her to death.

"Em . . Emmett. . . need to . . . breath!" Bella finally gasped out as Em swung her around.

"Sorry Bella. . ." he trailed off sheepishly only to look over at Gracie. While Jazz said his much more restrained hellos to Bella I introduced Gracie to Emmett.

"Hey Gracie, this is my friend Emmett but you can call him Em if you want. Can you say hello?" I asked her as she buried her face in my neck. I could feel her shake her head no against me and I looked over at Em. He had this shocked look on his face as he watched me with her. I just raised an eye brow at him in question. He shook his head with an amazed look before he reached one hand out to gently tickle Gracie in the side.

"Hey Gracie Girl, my name's Em. Can you give me smile sweetheart?" he asked her with an infectious smile. Gracie just clung tighter to me before she pulled my hair to lower my ear to her little mouth.

"He's gi-gan-tu-gous!" she struggled to say. I finally figured out that she had combined gigantic and humongous together and started laughing my ass off. When I finally regained my speaking ability I had a huge smile on my face when I made sure to let her know that he was really big, but he was kind of like Samson and Delilah. Really big, but really nice. When I put it that way for her she finally turned to look Em in the eyes and waved a little as she whispered a hi to him.

Em smiled his trademark dimpled smile at her and waved back. At that point, Gracie started giggling at him. When Em decided to move over so that Jazz could come say hi, Gracie once again buried her face in my neck. We went through the process of meet and greet once again, but this time she actually reached out and shook his hand. Jazz has always been mellow and drew people to him, seems like Gracie fell as easily as everyone else.

We slowly made our way over to retrieve their bags and Gracie refused to release me so that I could help. Em and Jazz just laughed at me and told me not to worry about it. We walked out to the car, Gracie still firmly planted on my hip as she shyly peeked at the guys. Bella walked next to me with her left hand hanging onto my back pocket while she chatted with Em and Jazz. After loading the bags into the back of Bella's truck, we all climbed in. Bella gave Em the front seat because he was so big. She sat in the middle and Jazz sat beside her while I drove. We quickly passed out of Telluride and was almost back to Rico when Em started complaining about being starved.

"Well, Em, we could stop at the diner in town if you can't wait for us to fix supper," I told him as I navigated through traffic.

"Man, come on. . . don't make me wait!" he whined at once.

"Fine. Just be prepared to receive some looks from the customer's, OK? They're still getting used to me and to see all three of us, tattoo's and all is going to take some getting used to for them. Oh, and avoid the waitress. You'll see what I mean if she is working. Lauren is a. . ." I drifted off as I looked at Gracie in the rear view mirror. "Well, let's just say that she isn't the nicest of people, if you get my drift?" I asked as I wiggled my eye brows at them.

"Yeah man, we get it!" laughed out Jazz from his spot in the back.

We pulled into the parking lot and I found a spot. The guys climbed out and I made my way around to get Gracie while Jazz helped Bella out of the back seat. When I turned around to the front of the truck, I paused to look my friends over. Both had several tattoo's shining from under their shirt sleeves, though not as many as I had. They were opposites in looks though. Where Em was a very tall, massively built man with dark curly hair, Jazz was lankier and had shaggy blond hair. And, there in the middle, was my Bella. I felt my heart swell with the love I have for these people, But of course I wouldn't admit to that if you paid me!

Bella looked at me and just smirked because she knew exactly what I was thinking at that moment. I just raised a brow in return and she nodded her head with a smile. I walked up to her and she put her little hand in mine and we led the way into the diner.

As I looked around for a booth or table to fit us all, it was exactly what I had expected. Everyone was staring at us. I could feel Bella blushing beside me as all of the attention was on us. I glanced around and saw Alice and Rose sitting near a table that was free near the back. When they saw us they both waved while smiling.

I led our group over to the table and Bella introduced Alice and Rose to Em and Jazz while I got Gracie a booster seat to sit on. When I realized how quiet it had gotten I looked over and saw Jazz just staring at little Alice. He was completely mesmerized by her. I glanced over at Em and he just had this goofy smile on his face as he and Rosalie talked quietly with each other. Bella met my gaze and just shrugged at me with a smile.

"Ladies, would you like to join us?" I asked them as I slid Bella's chair out for her.

They looked at each other and without a word grabbed their food and drinks and moved over to our table. I almost laughed out loud when Emmett and Jasper simultaneously pulled out chairs for them. Once all of the ladies were seated the guys and I got seated ourselves.

Of course, wouldn't you know it, our waitress just had to be Lauren. I was in mid- conversation with Jasper about the shop when I heard her annoying voice coming from behind me.

"Well, hello boys, what can I get for you this evening?" she said as she put one of her clawed hands on my shoulder. I roughly shrugged her off before giving Em and Jazz the eyebrow wiggle again. They just nodded slightly while they ordered.

I watched as Bella exchanged knowing glances with Rose and Alice as Lauren ignored them and actually started to walk away without taking Bella's order. Before I could say anything Rose quickly called her on it and made her come back over. After Bella ordered for Gracie and herself, Lauren once again huffed off to the kitchen. When she was gone, we all burst out in laughter.

"Dude, I totally see what you were sayin' about her!" Emmett said with a chuckle. Jasper just nodded in agreement before he went back to staring at Alice. I smirked as I reached out and kicked his foot under the table. He jumped a little and when Alice asked him if he was OK, he replied that everything was just fine before sending me a scowl. All I could do was smile and arch a brow in question at his odd behavior. He just shrugged back at me and tried not to stare so blatantly at her.

Em's loud laughter drew my attention to him and Rose and they were both laughing so hard that they had tears in their eyes. Bella was chuckling along with them and once I figured out that Rose had just made a comment concerning Lauren and her skankiness I joined in with them as well.

Lauren eventually brought out our food and I swear that Emmett attacked his burger like he hadn't eaten in a week. After we had all eaten we were getting ready to go and I saw Jasper walk Alice out the door as I once again grabbed Gracie up. She was really clinging to me tonight and it really did make me feel good that she loved me that much.

I made my way over to pay and was told that Emmett had already done that. I just nodded my head to him in thanks and he sent one back at me in reply. I find it amazing that we could still have our silent conversations like this. I was really glad to have my boys here. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed the crazy fools until they were here.

When we got back to the car, I loaded Gracie in her seat while everyone was saying their goodbye's and I just had a feeling that I would be seeing a lot more of Rose and Alice in our future.

I smiled as Bella carried on a conversation with Emmett while I drove us to the house. Bella and I had agreed that I would be staying at her place while the boys were here. Truthfully, I spent more time at her house than I did at my own anyways. When we pulled up to the house, we spent some time getting out all of their luggage and getting it in the house before I let them know about our living arrangements. They felt bad that I was leaving them the house, but when I explained that I spent more time at Bella's anyway, they finally agreed.

I left them all sitting in the living room and went to pack up a bag with some more clothes and necessities to take over to Bella's house. I walked back into the living room to find Bella relaxing on the couch beside Jazz while Em had Gracie and was zooming her around in the air like an airplane while she giggled uncontrollably. I smiled as I pulled Bella up from the couch to stand beside me.

"Well guys, we're gonna get goin'. Gracie has to get to bed soon. I'm gonna leave my car here for you guys in case you need to go somewhere." I said as I tossed Jasper my car keys.

"All right, we'll see you guys tomorrow then," Em said as he got up to walk over to us. "It was really nice meeting you Bella, and you too Gracie," he said as he chucked Gracie under the chin.

"Yeah, it's been really good to meed Edward's lady. You're really good for him Bella, I just wanted you to know that," Jasper said as he shook Bella's hand gently.

"Well, It's been really great meeting you guys, too! I'm glad that he finally called in some reinforcements for the shop!" Bella replied as she blushed at their welcoming wishes.

We finally managed to get out of the house and we quickly drove over to Bella's house. Samson and Delilah were very happy to see us back home. After we got Gracie in the bed and the dog's situated, we finally got to go out to the porch and we settled in the swing while we smoked a bit before going to bed.

"I really like Em and Jazz, Edward. I think that Rose and Alice really liked them, too!" Bella thought to me while laughing quietly over their reactions to each other.

"I'm glad you like them, Baby. They really liked you, too. I could just tell. Thanks for going to the airport with me and for making them feel at home here." I thought back to her.

"You're welcome, Baby. I really enjoyed myself tonight. I'm glad that everyone got along so well, too." she thought back to me. I nodded in reply before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

We finally decided to call it a night and after another quick look in at Gracie we went to bed. With whispers of I love you hanging in the air, Bella and I drifted off to sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

S. Meyer owns it all. I just own the storyline. Here is a long chapter for ya! 20 pages worth in word. Hope you guys enjoy it. A couple of lemons included :)

A/N OK, I had to delete the previous Ch. 15 to make some edits. Here is the new one. For those who have caught it, Sometimes you will find the mention of Raine or Wulf. I originally wrote this story as just for me, with my characters, but in the back of my mind I kept picturing Edward and Bella as the characters. So I have been editing my original story and changing the names to Edward and Bella. Every now and then, I miss one of their names (or parent's names ect.) if you find anymore inconsistencies please let me know so that I can fix it quickly. Thanks for all of the awesome reviews! I really appreciate getting them. As for the vote on Edward's hair, it was an overwhelming yes to get his hair cut. That will be next chapter :D

Chapter 15

Before we realized it, it was time to head to Texas. Edward had left Em and Jazz at the shop for a week. I wasn't sure if we would be gone that long, but we decided to make a real vacation out of it. The drive down would take a couple of days, so I had decided to use the jet since we had both of the dogs and Gracie to think about. We packed our bags and loaded up the dogs and all of their stuff. I swear they had more stuff than we did. Edward drove us to the airport in Telluride, where I had the jet waiting to meet us. Because we had the dogs, the airport staff led us to a side entrance so as not to cause a commotion in the airport. Edward took on the job of keeping Samson and Delilah's leases in hand as we were led down several long corridors before we finally made it to the loading entrance of the medium sized Citation X. There was plenty of room for us and the dogs. I had had them make some conversions, taking out some of the seats to make room for Delilah and Samson. I wanted them to be as comfortable as possible on the two-hour flight. I got Gracie settled down with a coloring book while we were getting ready for take-off.

We were all settled in and soon were in the air on our way to the small Edwards County Airport. I was glad that Rocksprings had an airport and that we wouldn't have a long drive to get to my parents. They had already taken my car and left it there at the airport for me earlier today. I had received the text message from my mom a couple of hours ago letting me know that the keys were in the airport's office.

Edward and I settled in together in one of the couches and watched a movie to pass the time. Gracie took up her usual spot between Samson and Delilah while she looked at books and colored pictures for her Mamaw and Poppy. We soon heard the pilot announce that we were approaching the airport and that we should buckle up. I called Gracie over to sit between Edward and I and Edward got her buckled in to her seat belt. After a smooth landing, we disembarked with Samson and Delilah on their leashes, Gracie walking between us. Samson had not flown before, but had done a super job with it. We had given him lots of praise during the trip and we were both proud of him and Delilah.

After walking them around a bit, I led Edward over to the office to pick up the keys to my car. Well, I should say tank. One of the first impulse purchases I had made after winning the lottery was a '06 H3 Hummer. I still liked it, but it was nowhere near practical. The thing got less than fifteen miles per gallon, but it was a bright canary yellow with tinted windows. It wasn't the MPG that I was concerned about though. It was the fact that it stood out and drew lots of attention. I could probably sell it, but it had some sentimental value for me, so I decided to keep it.

Edward and I loaded the bags into the back and lowered half of the backseat to make a platform for Samson and Delilah to lay on. I was happy to see that Mom and Dad had put a car seat in there for Gracie. Edward got the dogs in while I got Gracie buckled up in her seat. Once we were finished, he walked me around to the driver's door and opened it for me. I climbed up with some help from Edward's hand on my ass as he smirked up at me. I sent him a snarky grin in return as he walked around to climb in the passenger seat. After he got settled, I started up the engine and listened to it rumble for a moment, before pulling out of the parking lot.

The airport is only a ten minute drive from my parents house. I could tell that Edward was starting to get a little nervous, so I reached out to grab his hand. "Everything will be fine, Baby. They're going to love you. Don't worry so much!" I thought over at him.

He gripped my fingers tighter while looking over at me.

"Yeah, I'm going to remember this when it's your turn to meet my parents," he said with a little smirk on his lips. It wasn't quite normal, but it was a start. Then I started thinking about what he just said.

"You want me to meet your parents?" I questioned him, stuttering over the sentence a little.

"Well, yeah baby. I love you, and plan to be around you for the rest of my life. It might be prudent for you to meet my parents, don't you think? Besides, I think they are dying to meet Miss Gracie back there!" he told me with a big smile.

"I guess you're right. I just hadn't really thought about it," I replied.

"Why not? I mean, do you not want to meet them?" he asked me, and I could tell he was a little upset by that thought.

"No, Baby, that's not it. I just haven't given it much thought. I mean, we stay wrapped up in each other most of the time and I just . . . Baby, do you think they'll like me?" I wondered aloud to him.

"Bella, they'll love you and Gracie! I promise. In fact Mom has been asking me when I'm going to bring you guys home for a visit," he told me, the truth plain to see on his face. "I wasn't sure what to tell her about that, because I hadn't had a chance to discuss it with you."

"Oh, well in that case, I reckon we should plan a weekend to go visit them," I told him with a smile.

"We'll figure it out when we get home, OK?" he asked me and I agreed.

After a quick trip down some back roads, we arrived at my parents house. Looking over the tall white two story house, I felt the joy of coming back home. I parked the car in front of the house and as we climbed out of the car, the front door flew open and my mom came rushing up to hug me. While I was ensconced in her bearlike hug Edward was getting Gracie, Samson, and Delilah out of the car. He held them both on their leashes, one on each side of him, while he waited patiently for the hug-fest to be over. Gracie came running up to us, squealing in her excitement to see her grandparents again.

My mom was still squealing like a little girl about everything, when she realized he was standing there. She finally let go of me, Gracie planted on her hip, and turned to fully face him. I tried to look at him through her eyes. What she saw was this very tall, very muscular, very tattooed man holding two huge dogs. I really enjoyed the view myself, but I could see from the slight frown on Mom's face that she wasn't as thrilled with it as I was. She walked over and held her hand out to him as I introduced her.

"Mom this is my boyfriend, Edward Cullen. Edward, this is my Mom, Renee Swan." I said as I wrapped my arm around Edward's waist. I had to squeeze between Samson and him in order to do that, but it was fine.

"Oh, this is Samson, Mom. Isn't he gorgeous?" I asked her enthusiastically.

She gingerly shook Edward's hand before turning to meet Samson. She cocked her head to the side before looking at me. "Is he the same breed as Delilah? The mastiff thing?"

"Yep he is, and they are called American Mastiff's, Mom." I said in reply, rolling my eyes a little because you would think that she would remember that fact as much as I talked about the American Mastiff.

"Oh, OK then. Well you guys come on in the house. I've made up Gracie's and your rooms for you Bella, and put Edward in the guest room across the hall from you," she told me pointedly.

My mother firmly believed that I was still a virgin and I intended to keep it that way. I mean, seriously you would think that Gracie was an immaculate conception the way she acted about the whole thing sometimes. I really didn't look forward to answering awkward questions from her. Edward looked over at me with a raised brow and I just shrugged in reply as we followed my mom up the stairs.

We stopped by Edward's room first to drop off his bags before going to put Gracie's things in her room. She had a princess room here at my parents house that she was in love with. After getting her things put away, we finally went to my room. Mom left us there while she took Gracie to the kitchen to find her something to snack on. I looked around my old room and it looked the same as it did when I left, rainbow walls and everything. I had gone through a faze where I wanted everything rainbow colored. The four walls were each a different color. They were yellow, light blue, magenta, and lime green. They clashed horribly, but it was what I liked at the time.

He looked over at me, trying to hold in his laughter, but not quite succeeding. I wrinkled my nose at him playfully before falling back onto the bed. It was still as comfortable as I remembered it being. Edward crawled up the bed to lay with his head on my stomach. I ran my fingers through his hair, scratching at his scalp softly. He of course, started humming and nuzzled his face into my stomach a little further.

My mom chose that moment to walk in on us. She gave a flustered apology. I tried to tell her that we were just laying there, but she still rushed out and down the stairs. I groaned in complaint, but drug myself out of the bed anyway, to go find her.

I found her in the kitchen of course. She was chopping some vegetables for the soup she was making while Gracie sat at the table munching on some goldfish. I walked over to my mom and wrapped my arms around her shoulder's, giving her a quick squeeze.

"Mom, you didn't have to run out," I softly told her.

"Bella, it didn't look so innocent from where I was standing. That man had his face buried into your crotch!" she said in a heated whisper, while shooting a quick glance to see if Gracie was paying attention to us. I followed her look to see Gracie sitting at the table, arranging her gold fish crackers into different shapes.

I looked over at her again and said, "Mom, first of all, his name is Edward, not "that man". Secondly, his face was not buried in my crotch. He was laying there with his head on my stomach. We were just talking! Mom, please say that you and Daddy will give him a chance." I begged her in a rough whisper.

"We promise to try Baby. That's all I can say. Are you sure about him Bella? He looks a little . . . rough around the edges, so to speak. And, what about Gracie? He just doesn't look like the kind of guy that you would want around a young impressionable little girl! We only want the best for you and Gracie, Baby Girl." she said with a small frown between her brows.

"Mom, I love him. I've never felt like this before in my life. I can't imagine my life without him right there, every step of the way. As for Gracie, she loves him too. He is so wrapped around her little finger Mom. He loves her too!" I told her honestly.

"Well, what about your money? Have you told him about that? What if he's only with you for your money? Did you think of that?" She just wouldn't let it go.

"Mom! He isn't with me because of my money! Hell, he didn't even know about the money for a while, until I told him. Mom, he loves me! He loves Gracie! Please, just be happy for us." I ended with tears shining in my eyes.

I loved my mom, but she was very protective of anyone in our family, and even worse when it came to me and Gracie. She looked me over, from head to toe, and gave me a small nod. "Alright Bells, if you say this man loves you, and loves Gracie, then I'm going to believe it. But, Lord help him if he ends up hurting either of you!" she said vehemently.

I walked over to her and squeezed her up in a big hug.

"Thanks Momma! Now, can you work on Daddy too?" I asked her with a laugh. She just laughed at me, before shooing me out of her kitchen. "Go on with you, go find that young man of yours and let him know that I'm not gonna shoot him or anything. I'll keep Gracie here so that we can visit some more."

"Will do Momma!" I saluted her playfully before going over to kiss Gracie on the head. Then, I hurried up the stairs, wanting to find Edward.

I walked down the hallway towards my bedroom. Suddenly, I felt a tug on my hand, pulling me into the bathroom. I let out a little squeal at first, that soon turned to laughter when I saw Edward standing there, with a sheepish look on his handsome face.

"Baby? What are we doing in the bathroom?" I thought to him.

"I was a little worried about your mom. She doesn't like me, does she?" he questioned while pulling me against him.

"Baby, it's not that she doesn't like you, it's the fact that I'm her baby, and she doesn't like anyone to hurt me or, God forbid, Gracie. Unfortunately, I think she looked you over, saw the bad boy persona that you've got goin' on here, and decided that you were going to hurt us." I told him apologeticly. "But, the good news is that I think I finally got her to understand how much Gracie and I love you and she has agreed to keep an open mind. And, she's going to talk to Daddy!" I told him excitedly.

"Ok Baby. Well then, I reckon I had better get busy, showing her just how much I love her beautiful girls then, huh?" he teased me.

We exchanged a few more kisses before we snuck out of the bathroom and into my room. Delilah and Samson were still laying in the floor, waiting for us. I sat on the bed while Edward looked around my room. He was looking at the pictures on the walls of me with old friends and family. He picked up the picture of me at Junior prom. I was wearing this hideous peach fluffy dress and I had a bad perm. He smirked at me for a minute before he sat it back down on the dresser. He walked slowly in a circle, before coming to one of my favorite photos. It was of Delilah laying up on an outcropping of sandstone. I had taken it at sunset while out hiking one day. I watched him tracing his fingers gently over it before he turned back to me and came over to sit with me on the bed.

"Baby, tell me this, how the hell am I supposed to sleep without holding you in my arms? Do you realize that we haven't slept apart since the opening night of the shop? And now here we are, at your parents house, and I'll be damned if I give them some reason to not like me!" he ranted at me while running his long fingers through his hair.

I reached out and grabbed his face between my hands and made him focus on me a minute, "Edward! Calm down! It'll be OK!" I laughingly told him.

I couldn't believe how he was stressing about the whole thing. I felt bad so I wrapped him up in a big hug and pulled his head down to lay against my breasts. He wrapped his arms around my waist and nuzzled against them. I ran my fingernails gently through his hair. I could feel the tension leaving his body the longer I scratched. I finally scooted back, propping myself against the headboard, while I pulled at him to come with me. After resettling, we lay still, with Edward's head once again propped on my stomach. We finally heard the front door open and close and I knew that my dad had made it home.

"Come on Edward, that's my Dad," I told him as I pushed on his shoulder's to get him to get up.

We got up and went downstairs with Samson and Delilah following us. I stopped on the landing, looking down at my Dad for a minute. He was still a handsome man at forty-eight. He only had a very light sheen of grey in his thick brown hair. My dad was a relatively tall man, at six feet even. He and mom complimented each other nicely. I watched as Mom came out from the kitchen to embrace him gently. She was the same hight as me, but slimmer. The love they felt, even after all these years, was very apparent between them. I hoped that Edward and I would still be so in love after nearly thirty years of marriage.

I could hear the pitter-patter of little feet as Gracie came running from the kitchen. When she saw him she yelled out, "Poppy! You're home!" before she attacked his legs.

He laughed heartily before swooping down to pick her up and toss her into the air. He gathered her to his chest and gave her a big hug and a kiss on top of her head.

I felt Edward squeeze my hand gently as he whispered in my ear, "me too, Baby," in response to my thought about their love. I wrapped my arm around his waist and cleared my throat a little before I led him down the stairs. The dogs came down behind us and stood on either side of Edward and I as I made the introductions.

"Dad, I would like you to meet my boyfriend, Edward Cullen. Edward, this is my Dad, Charlie Swan." I made the introductions and watched as my Dad sized up Edward. I could see his eyes wondering over the tattoos on Edward's arms and I hoped that he wouldn't judge him based only on that.

"Edward, it's nice to meet the man that I've heard so much about! My little girl here talks about you all the time," he said with a smile as he shook Edward's hand.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Swan. Bella has told me a lot about you and Mrs. Swan. I appreciate you and Mrs. Swan having me here for the holiday." Edward replied in turn.

"Don't worry about it, we're happy to have you guys here. And, call me Charlie," Dad told him.

"Why don't we go into the living room and get comfortable?" Mom inputed as she led us in to sit down.

Edward and I grabbed the love seat while Mom and Dad sat in the one across from us. Gracie decided to sit in the floor with Samson and Delilah. I reached out and twisted my fingers with Edward's as we sat and stared at my parents.

Mom started the questions with, "So, Edward, where is it that you're from? I can't remember Bella saying," she asked him.

"I'm originally from a small town in North Carolina. I was born and raised in Pittsboro. After school, I moved to Raleigh and worked with a friend in a shop there for five years before moving to Rico," he told them. "My parents still live in Pittsboro, though."

"That's wonderful. Do you like living in Rico after living in a large city? I know there can't be as much to do in a little town like Rico." Dad asked him as he sat back and lay his arm behind my Mom's shoulders.

"Well, that was a lot of the draw for me. Rico is small, which was getting me back to my roots, and the views there are great. I had only been there for a little over a week when I ran into Bella at the pet store. The rest, as they say, is history," he said as he looked over at me with a heart melting smile.

I smiled brightly up at him, reaching out to run my fingers along his jaw. He turned his head to kiss my palm and we were lost in each other's eyes as we remembered our first meeting. Suddenly we were drawn out of our reverie by a light cough. We had completely forgotten that my parents were sitting there across from us, watching us closely. I pulled my hand down and turned to look at them sheepishly. They both had large happy grins on their faces though.

"I can tell that you two are so happy together, and if you make Bella happy, then you make us happy," Dad told him for both of them.

I sighed in relief. I had hoped that Edward would be accepted, but to have them follow through, it was a great relief.

We continued to make small talk for a while before Mom called us in to eat supper. Edward stood and reached his hand down for me, to help me up. He picked Gracie up to carry her before reaching out for my hand again. Holding hands, he let me lead him to the dining room. When we got to the table, he pulled my chair out for me before sitting down beside me with Gracie in his lap. I caught Mom smiling at me and trying to give me a covert thumbs up about it. Gentlemen came in all packages, and he had just shown that to my parents.

I got Gracie situated in a chair beside me so that she could eat before settling back in my chair. I felt Edward's hand as he let it rest on my thigh and I reached down to hold it in my own. I was so happy to have the people that I loved sitting around me tonight.

When Gracie was finished eating she got down and wondered around the dining room for a minute before she came over to climb into Edward's lap again. He absentmindedly settled her against his chest while he continued talking to my parents. I covertly watched my parents taking in his easy way with her and smiled as I watched Edward turn her in his arms so that she could lean against him. Before long, she had fallen asleep against his broad chest. He looked down at her and gently kissed the top of her blonde curls before looking up to notice my parents staring at him. He just shrugged his shoulder's at them because really, he loved my little girl and didn't care who knew it.

The supper that Mom made was delicious as usual. We all stuffed ourselves on it and sat around drinking coffee and talking before saying our goodnights. I gave them hugs and kisses before leading Edward, who was still carrying a sleeping Gracie, up to her bedroom to get her ready for bed. She mumbled the whole time I put her into her pajamas and asked for Edward to tuck her into bed that night. I kissed her once before moving out of the way so that he could give her his own good nights. After she had fallen back asleep we tiptoed out of her room to head outside to the porch. I was jonesin' for a smoke, and I knew that he had to be too. Samson and Delilah followed us before walking off the porch to nose around the yard. We settled in the swing, enjoying the warm night air as we smoked.

"I like your parents Bella. I was a bit worried at first, but I think we're going to get along just fine," he told me with a one-armed hug.

I couldn't resist an I told you so. "Edward, I love you."

I sighed as I lay my head on his shoulder. With fingers intwined, we just swung back and forth gently and enjoyed the quiet that comes from being in a small town.

When we had finished up our cigarettes, I called for the dogs and led them inside. I thought back to when Mom and Dad had officially met Samson. They shared our humor about his and Delilah's names and Dad had fallen in love with him. My parents weren't really dog people. They tolerated Delilah when I came home to visit, but didn't own any dogs of their own. I think Dad may be seriously considering getting an AM now that he had watched Samson and Delilah interact with each other and especially how they watched over Gracie and were constantly looking out for her. They were so well behaved, gentle, and the fact that they didn't try to jump on anyone really went over well.

We walked up the stairs and I dropped Edward and Samson at the guest room. I walked him over to the bed and we exchanged several long, slow kisses before breaking apart. Figuring that if I didn't leave now, I wouldn't make it out of the room, I said my goodnights to Edward and Samson before leaving the room. Delilah whined at me when Samson didn't follow us.

After a quick stop in to check on Gracie, I took Delilah to my room and I tried to get her to settle down, but eventually gave up. I wasn't having anymore success than she was. I simply could not go to sleep. The bed was too empty without Edward laying there beside me, his arms wrapped tightly around me. I could tell he was still awake also. I let him know that Delilah and I were coming over. He thought back to me that he was worried about being caught by my parents. As I opened the door, I let him know that hopefully, I would be out and back to my own room before they were up in the morning. And if not, we would just have to deal with it. We both needed sleep and apparently that wasn't going to happen alone.

He propped his head up on one hand as he lifted the blanket in invitation for me to slide in. I wasted no time in getting under them with him. Once his arms wrapped around me and I found my spot on his shoulder, it didn't take us long at all to fall asleep.

I awoke to Delilah nudging my hand with her nose. I blinked blearily over at her and saw that she and Samson were standing there, staring at me. I knew they needed to go out. I looked over my shoulder to see Edward still sleeping peacefully and eased my way out of bed. I hoped that it was still early enough to sneak out of his room without getting caught. I know it's silly to worry about that, being twenty-five, but it's still my parents and I didn't want to disappoint them.

I made my way quietly down the stairs and let the dogs out the front door. When I turned around my mom was standing in the doorway to the kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand. She arched an eyebrow at me and tilted her head, giving me a questioning look. She motioned to me to follow her into the kitchen. I took a deep breath and slowly trailed behind her.

Once we were in there, she handed me a cup of coffee and sat on one of the barstools at the counter. I followed her example and stirred my coffee to keep from looking at her. Finally I gave up and raised my eyes to meet her knowing ones.

"So, Bella, is there something you would like to tell me? Maybe about the reason why I didn't find you in your bed this morning, but instead I found you in Edward's?" she asked me archly.

"Mom, I know, that you know, that I'm not a baby anymore. Edward and I sleep together. I need him beside me. We tried, we really did, to sleep in our own rooms last night. Neither of us could sleep, Mom. And, it was me who went to Edward. He was worried about giving a bad impression to you and Dad. After tossing and turning, I couldn't take it any more! I need him next to me, Momma. I hope that you aren't mad at us." I trailed off. I hadn't meant to let all of that come out, but I wanted her to not blame Edward. I finally lifted my eyes to hers to see her smiling softly. She reached out and pulled me into a hug before she pulled back to look at me.

"I understand what you're saying, baby girl. I feel the same way about your Daddy. I can't sleep without him right there beside me. I'm not going to say anything to you about what goes on behind closed doors, other than I hope that you are being safe. You're a smart girl, and I think you can see the benefit of having some time for just you, Edward, and Gracie before inviting some more little ones to join you in this world. Tell Edward that he can move his things to your room. There's no point in pretending that he's staying in the guest room when he isn't going to. I also figure that you would prefer to be in your own bed. I'll take care of your Daddy, sweetie. Don't worry about it." She gave me one more squeeze before turning me loose and picking her coffee cup back up. "I do have one more question for you though, How does Gracie like having Edward around all of the time and how does he like having her around all of the time?"

"Momma, Gracie loves him so much. My heart just melts when I see them interacting like father and daughter, ya know? He just automatically does things for her. If she needs something then he just does it. My favorite times are when I catch them snuggled up on the couch with Samson and Delilah watching TV. I mean, there is my little baby surrounded by this big man and these huge dogs, and to know that any of them would do anything to protect her, it just . . . it's really hard to explain how good it makes me feel. Do I make any sense?" I asked mom as I sat on the bar stool beside her. I twirled around a little in agitation as I waited for her answer.

"I understand where you're coming from Bella. It's nice to know that someone you love is loved unconditionally by the other someone's that you love." She told me after taking a long sip from her coffee mug. "Ok, now I have another question. You had said before that you have been spending most evenings at the shop with Edward, right? Well, what does Gracie do to stay occupied during that time?"

"Oh, I've brought a bunch of her toys and games in to the shop. I even brought in a TV and DVD player so that she could watch movies sometimes. We often get into Wii tournaments. . . I can't believe how good she is at the bowling game! But, I also have some books, coloring books, ect. there too. On nights that she really doesn't want to stay, Alice will watch her for me. We make out, ya know? But, most of the time she stays with us there at the shop and I take her and Delilah home to get her bathed and into bed by nine. It just works for us." I told her earnestly. I was proud that we had worked out a way to spend time at the shop with Edward and keep Gracie there with us. She loved being at the shop and could often be found curled up with Samson and Delilah in front of the reception desk, greeting customer's while looking at books or coloring pictures.

"Ok Baby Girl, I just wanted to know how you were doing things," she told me with a smile of understanding on her beautiful face.

I felt myself blushing furiously, but I was proud to look her in the eyes and tell her how much it meant to me that she understood. We sat there, in easy conversation, for the next hour. Gracie made her way into the kitchen for some breakfast while Momma caught me up on all the gossip from around town.

I found out that several of my "friends" had gotten pregnant and were living on public assistance. I almost felt sorry for them, until I remembered what they had put me thorough and how they tried to use me when I won the lottery. It was still a sore spot for me. I was contemplating all that had happened when I felt the electrical touch of Edward running his palms down my arms while he kissed the top of my head.

"Morning Baby, I woke up and you were gone. I didn't like it!" he said quietly so that my mom couldn't hear him.

"Hey yourself. Did you sleep alright last night? Oh, yeah, I talked to mom this morning. She said you can move into my room." I told him then placed a quick kiss on his full lips.

"What? That must've been some conversation," he whispered back.

"Yeah, she came looking for me this morning and didn't find me in my room, so she looked in yours. I explained that we couldn't sleep without the other and she was really understanding about the whole thing. Said it was the same with her and Daddy." I thought to him.

"As long as it's OK with them, then I will definitely not argue!" he thought back to me.

Mom cleared her throat and then spoke to Edward. "Good morning Edward. I trust you slept well?" she said with a slight smirk.

"Yes Ma'am. I slept just fine." he told her sheepishly. He knew that she was making reference to the fact that she had found us together.

"Wonderful. I'm assuming that Bella just filled you in on your new room?" she asked him with a smug smile.

"Yes Ma'am, she did. Thank you for being understanding about it," he replied sincerely.

"You're welcome Edward. As long as Bella is happy, then I'm happy," she told him.

"It's my intention that Bella will always be happy with me," he told her intently.

She just smiled in acceptance and went over to the coffee pot to fill him up a mug. We sat around the bar, drinking our coffee and soon Dad came in to join us.

"So, kids, what're your plans for today?" he asked as he sipped at his steaming mug.

"Um, I thought that I would take Edward and show him the town." I told them.

"Sounds like a good plan. You should definitely try to get by and see your grandparents while you're out. You know that Nana and Poppa miss you and Gracie," Dad told me.

"OK Daddy. I'll get by there before I head home. Right now, we're going to go get ready. Will you let the dogs in when they come back?" I asked him as I gave him a hug. "Do you want me to take Gracie with me today or do you guys want to keep her to yourselves?" I asked them before I went upstairs.

"Bella you know that we want to keep Gracie here with us! We haven't gotten to see our little girl in months and we have some serious time to make up for!" Dad told me in a teasing voice.

I nodded my head in understanding because I knew that that was what they would want to do. They doted on Gracie and missed her dreadfully when we hadn't gotten to see them in a while.

He agreed to let the dogs in and Edward and I went to get his things from the guest room and move them to my room. He sat his bag down at the foot of the bed while I grabbed some clothes to take into the bathroom. I stood in the doorway, debating for a moment whether or not I should invite Edward to join me in the shower. I looked over at him and he looked so . . . so . . . I don't have the words, but I knew that I wanted him in the shower with me. I thought the question at him and he shot me a brilliant smile before grabbing some clothes.

After a rather fulfilling shower, Edward and I soon were ready to go. It was hot out, so I decided on a pair of shorts and a spaghetti-strapped tee shirt. I didn't mind my tattoos showing here around my hometown. They had all seen them already, so it wasn't a big deal.

Edward followed my lead, and pulled on a pair of black, knee length shorts with a white wife-beater tee. He looked good enough to eat, for me anyway. I smiled over at him while he was sliding on a pair of black hightop chucks. His hair was falling over one wide shoulder as he tied his shoes. I was liking the way his tattoos rippled with the movement of his strong arms.

"You'll probably want to put your hair in a ponytail. It's going to be really hot out today." I told him as I pulled my hair into a clip high on my head. He nodded as he pulled it back and put a black band around it. His hair was very thick, and was almost the size of my wrist when he gathered it into a ponytail.

"Yeah, I'm thinking more and more about having it cut. Do you know of any place around here that we could go? I have a feeling that it's going to be really really hot out there and I'm just ready for it to be gone!" he told me as he stood up.

"Yeah, there's the place where my mom goes here in town. We could actually swing by there today if you want?" I asked him as I stopped in front of the bedroom door.

I saw him swallow quickly, before he tentatively nodded his head yes in response.

"So, I thought that we could walk the dogs through town this morning, before it got to hot for them. There's a dog park on the other side of town. We can let them play there for a while. When it get's too hot, we can bring them back here to the house. After that, if you want, we could swing by the hair place and see if they could cut your hair for you," I informed him of the things we could do, while still looking him over, hoping that I wasn't drooling.

He walked over to me and wrapped those strong arms of his around me in a tight hug. "That sounds fine. Baby, this is your town. Whatever you wanna do, we can do. I would love to see some of the places that you used to hang out in and some of your favorite places to go. I do have to ask where Gracie is going to be while we are out gallivanting around town though?" he replied.

"She will be staying with my parents and spending just about all of her time with them while we are here" I thought to him as I squeezed him tightly to me, loving the feel of his arms so tightly wrapped around me. I reached up and kissed him underneath his chin. He tilted his head down so that I could reach his mouth. I placed a few nibbles on his lips before pulling away from him. Walking over to sit on my brightly colored bed, I pulled my sandals on. They were comfortable so I had no worries about walking around town in them. When I finished, Edward pulled me up from the bed and led me downstairs. We found Samson and Delilah laying in a corner of the living room with Gracie playing nearby as Mom watched the Rachel Ray show while she had been waiting on us.

"Bella, you should take Edward over to the water hole. I'm sure that he'd like to see where you got caught skinny dippin' when you were 15," she said with a sly smile. I groaned loudly at her for giving him that kind of information on me. Looking over at him, I saw the smirk on his face. Oh, yeah, he was definitely interested in that.

"Baby, I think we should take some swim suits or old clothes to swim in. It will be fun! We can even take the dogs and let them swim too!" He told me excitedly.

"Fine. We can run by the store to get something to swim in. I didn't bring anything with me, did you?" I asked him.

"Nope, but I can always just swim in a pair of shorts that I brought. In fact you could too." he told me.

"Since I only brought the one pair of shorts, I wanted to go by and grab something else from the store. I also need to pick Gracie up a suit, too." I told him.

He agreed and we soon piled into the H3. It was already getting hot, so we left the dogs at home with my mom while we went to the store. I let Edward drive this time. He took my breath away, sitting behind the wheel, with a cigarette hanging from his lips. Of course he was always the gentleman and leaned over to light my cigarette first. I really liked when he did that for me. I dunno why, but I just did.

He started the engine and I reached out to crank the air conditioner up. I could tell that it was going to be a scorcher today. I directed Edward to town and through the streets until we got to Glad Rags. It was the little shop that was owned by a distant relative of my Dads. He parked in front of the store and walked around to open my door for me. As I sat there waiting for him, I looked around the street and saw several people watching him. You could tell that they were wondering who he was and what he was doing driving my H3. I was the only one in town who had one, well I was the last time I was home anyway.

Edward opened the door and reached in and lifted me down from the seat. He peppered my mouth with sweet kisses before releasing me. I took his hand and led him into the store. When I heard the bell jingle overhead, and the smells assaulted my nose, I had so many memories of the days I would come in with my best friend Jessica Stanley. It was bittersweet thinking about her. She was the friend who automatically expected me to buy her the car. I hadn't spoken to her in years. I shook off the memories and walked over to the men's section with Edward.

I browsed around for a bit, looking for some swim trunks for him. "Hey baby, I found some. Now we can go find something for you," he said as he held up a pair of light blue trunks that had Hawaiian flowers down the right leg.

He pulled me along to the women's section of the store. I really didn't relish buying a bathing suit. Edward insisted that I had to try on anything that I thought that I might like. I started looking through one rack while he started on the other. I picked out a really cute black tankini, and I also found a suit that consisted of brown boy shorts with a brown halter top that had big pink flowers down the sides. He found me a little black bikini that I stared him down over. All he did was shrug his shoulder's unrepentantly at me. He finally agreed to put that back and found a one piece black swim dress that would show off my breasts to the best effect but flow nicely over my stomach and hips. I took them all into the dressing room and he critiqued all of them for me. Finally we decided on the brown set and the swim dress.

We then went over to find a couple of swim suits for Gracie. He picked out a really cute rainbow colored suit that he said reminded him of my bedroom and I found her a princess suit that I knew that she would love. After getting those and a couple of pairs of shorts and tee-shirts for her, He led me up to the cashier and before I could get my wallet out, he paid for everything. He smirked over at me while he grabbed up the bags of our clothes before leading me to the door of the shop.

Edward had just opened the door of the little store, when someone came rushing in and bumped into me. I looked up startled. I tightened my grip on Edward's hand when I realized that it was James Jones, my ex-boyfriend and Gracie's dad. James was an average guy. Five feet ten inches tall, blonde hair, blue eyes. Like I said average. James is also the guy who turned the four-wheeler over on us and he was the guy that broke up with me when I moved to Rico, because he couldn't handle the distance and thought we would be better as friends. He was also the piece of crap who didn't want to be a father to Gracie and signed over all of his parental rights to her when I moved.

"Oh, Bella. I'm glad I caught you! I saw your car out front and just knew that it was providence that I came by when I did. I miss you, ya know? I think we should try again, to be together, I mean. I wanted to see if you wanted to go out while you were here in town. Maybe you could come home more often and we could get to know each other again," he spoke hurriedly, twitching around like his pants were full of fire ants.

I didn't even have to pull Edward forward to introduce him. As soon as James had started talking he had come closer behind me and when he got beside me, as James was finishing his spiel, Edward tucked me underneath his arm. I of course, wrapped my arms around him before turning back to James.

"Hi James, I'd like you to meet Edward Cullen, My boyfriend," I told him proudly. I knew that Edward could hear me when I explained who this person was to him. He thought back to me that everything was fine and that I shouldn't worry.

"Edward, I would like you to meet James Jones. He's an old friend of mine," I told him.

James looked as if he had just swallowed a big ol' mouth full of vinegar. He tried to correct his expression quickly, but wasn't quick enough. I watched I amusement as he tried to think of something to say. He had already stuck his foot in it and there was no backing out.

I could hear Edward's thoughts as he snorted silently. "How much more irritating can you get? He can see me here with you, and yet he chooses to ignore the fact that I'm even standing here. How could you date an idiot like this?" he questioned me in my thoughts.

I squeezed him lightly as I thought back to him, "He didn't used to be this obtuse! I don't know what has gotten into him today. I'm sure that Mom has let it out that we're dating. It's not like it was a secret, ya know?"

Edward leaned in and kissed the top of my head while thinking back to me, "Well, I definitely am not keeping us a secret! I'm proud that you're my girlfriend, and I would be glad to shout out to the world that I love you, Baby."

During all of our silent conversation, James still looked like he wanted to hit somebody before saying, "Oh, your boyfriend you say? When did this happen?" he stuttered out, his fists clenched at his sides.

"We met a few months ago. So, anyone new in your life?" I asked him while leaning against Edward.

"Um, no. Well, I've gotta go. Y'all have fun. Will you guys be at the Labor Day picnic? I want to see Gracie before you leave town again," he told me, while directing a look up at Edward.

"Yeah, Mom and Dad want us to come. As for you seeing Gracie, that isn't a good idea James. You gave up all rights to her when I left. I'm sorry, but that is the way it's going to be." I told him before tugging gently on Edward's hand.

I was ready to go home. Besides I really didn't want to talk to James anymore. He had had his chance already, and when he did what he did, it just showed me that he wasn't what I needed in my life.

"Well, it's been real, but I promised Edward I would show him around town. We'll see you around . . . maybe. Bye."

James said his goodbyes and went on into the store as Edward and I went back to the H3. We looked at each other once we were seated and we both started to laugh. After getting all of the laughs out, we went back to the house to change and get Samson and Delilah.

Edward had no trouble finding it and soon we were pulling up in front of the large white two story house. Edward grabbed the bags from the back seat and held my hand as we went inside. I called out that we were home and heard Mom's reply from the living room. We went in to talk to her for a minute and I told her what had happened with James.

"James knows that you're dating. He was there when I told Mrs. Bishop, down at the bank. That was a few weeks ago. I don't know what has gotten into that boy!" Mom told me in exasperation.

"It's OK mom, really. I was quick to let him know that I wasn't in the market, especially with Edward standing there. How can he be so single minded? He acted like Edward wasn't standing there with his arm around me." I told her with a shrug.

She didn't really have an answer, but I didn't really expect one. We chatted about the picnic on Monday and who was supposed to be there. She let me know that my old group of friends were going to be there, and I felt a little trepidation about showing up. After she reassured me that everything would be fine, we decided to go and get changed before going to the water hole.

Edward led me up the stairs by the hand, and when we got to my room we quickly changed into our swim suits. I opted to wear the brown set and pulled a pair of rather short Levi cutoff's on over it. I chose to not wear a shirt over the top because of the heat. He looked absolutely lick worthy in his swim trunks and I once again appreciated his masculine form. I had discovered how he kept in such great shape. I had found him working out in a home gym one day when I had gone by his house. Now I will always think of that room with much fondness. It's amazing what you can do on a weight bench!

Edward just cocked that eyebrow at me when he saw me undressing him with my eyes.

"Baby, you had better stop looking at me like that or your dear, sweet Mama is going to hear you screaming my name in a matter of minutes!" he growled at me as he lifted me up in his massive arms.

I just clung to him and bit down softly on his ear before whispering, "promises, promises!" into it. He started grinding against me and told me that it was a fact before he reluctantly set me back on my feet. I had to clear my mind before I could move, as pictures of this fact swam through my head. I was determined that his promise would come to fruition at some point today. I needed him and I made sure he knew that before leading him out of my room. He growled softly behind me, but let me lead him down the stairs to collect the dogs.

Since it was almost lunch time, I went and packed us a cooler of sandwiches, chips, and some bottled water before we left. At the last minute, I remembered to grab the sunscreen and toss it into my bag. The last thing I want is a sunburn.

Edward carried the basket out to the H3 and put it in the back as I got the dogs inside. He drove us to town and found a parking space on a side street. Putting the dogs on their leashes we got ready for a walk around the small town. There really wasn't a lot to see here. This town is even smaller than Rico. I pointed out various stores and buildings as we went. We got several curious stares. When I would run into someone that I knew, the first thing they would ask is who Edward was. I lost count of the times that I introduced him to people. He got a kick out of everyone knowing me.

After a little while we finally made our way to the dog park. It was great because it was fenced in. There weren't many people there when we got there. We found a tree and I spread a blanket out and we settled down to watch the dogs playing. I was sitting in between Edward's long legs, leaned back on his chest. It was so comfortable sitting there in the shade. We sat there a while before he started placing kisses along the side of my neck. I arched my head to the side to give him better access. My eyes were slowly drifting closed as I basked in his loving attention. Edward had wrapped his arms around my waist, right below my breasts and he suddenly cupped them in his large hands. I jerked up and looked around to make sure that there was no one near to see.

"Edward!" I hissed at him, trying to push his hands back down to my waist.

"There's no one around to see, Bella. It's not my fault that you're irresistible!" he gruffly replied as he pulled me back into his erection.

I couldn't hold in the slight moan that flooded my throat. It's been several days since we have had a chance to make love. The quickie in the shower was nice, but I loved making love with him. I arched my head back and placed soft kisses against his jaw and whispered that we should go soon. I had plans for a certain secluded area near the water hole. He just didn't know it yet.

"OK Baby. Do you want me to get the blanket or the dogs?" he asked me.

"I'll get the blanket if you get the dogs," I told him before standing.

He went over and called Samson and Delilah to him. I felt the heat settle between my thighs when I looked him over. Samson moved forward suddenly and I watched the strong muscles of his arms bulging as he pulled him back in. He looked up and caught my dazed over look and smirked at me. He knew exactly what effect he had on me, and played it to his advantage. All I could do was shrug at him. I knew that I was caught and didn't even bother trying to deny it.

I finished folding the blanket and walked over to get Delilah's leash from him. We walked side by side with the dogs on either side of us as we went back to the car. It was starting to really heat up and I figured that it was a good time to take the dogs back to my parents house. I climbed up in the passenger seat after Edward opened the door for me. I lit up a cigarette while waiting for him to get in the car. When he had it started, I cranked the air conditioner down as low as I could get it. The dogs were breathing hard from the heat and I could feel the sweat trickling down my spine. I was really ready to go swimming.

We dropped the dogs off at the house and then I directed Edward to the water hole. After parking and getting out, he took the cooler from the back. I grabbed out a bottle of water for us to share on our walk. Edward easily lifted the cooler up on his shoulder and motioned for me to lead the way. It was a short walk to the water, but it was long enough to start to get sweatier. I twisted the cap off the water bottle before taking a long swallow. Handing it to Edward I watched as his adams apple bobbed up and down as he drank. Some of the water spilled out and made its way slowly down his chin and then onto his massive chest. I found myself slightly jealous of that drop of water, and quickly shook it off. I knew I was being silly about it, but damn it if I didn't want to lick him again.

Edward handed the water bottle back to me and I took another swallow before putting the lid back on it. Walking at a steady pace, we reached the water hole within five minutes. I showed him where to put the cooler and spread the blanket out underneath a big tree. When I had it flattened out I quickly stripped out of my jean shorts and dropped them onto the blanket. I looked over at Edward and felt my throat go dry as he slowly pulled his tee shirt over his head, revealing his glorious chest to my view. I picked the bottle of water up and took another swallow, trying to gain my composure a little. I turned away slowly, as I adjusted the bottoms of my swim suit. I really wasn't crazy about wearing a swim suit. I knew that I didn't really have the body to pull one off and momentarily thought about putting my shorts back on.

Edward growled at me as he caught that thought. He stalked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, grabbing my ass in his large hands. "Bella, I love your body and I think that you're sexy as all get out! I thought you said that you were happy with your body as it is? Why the second guesses now? I've seen you in absolutely nothing, and you drive me crazy. It's all I can do not to hump on you like a damn dog, that's how turned on you make me! So, again, why're you second guessing your body now?"

Hearing him say that brought tears to my eyes. I guess, I had made peace with my body while I was alone, but showing off its imperfections to him made me feel like he could do so much better. I mean, look at him! There he stands in all of his greek god perfection and I am just plain ol' dumpy me!

Edward tightened his hold on me before lifting me up and wrapping my legs around his waist. The way he held me so effortlessly, still amazed me every time it happened.

"I guess I need to show you just what your luscious body does to me, don't I?" he told me and then proceeded to grind himself into the heat between my legs. He was placing small wet kisses up and down my neck and over my face before he settled on my lips. I tightened my grip around his neck as he nibbled from one corner of my mouth to the other. When I was totally breathless, he slid those magical lips to my ear and bit down gently on my lobe before he whispered into my ear, "Do you get what you do to me? Baby, you may think that your body isn't great, but I dream about holding you next to me, I crave your touch, and if I could, I would be buried inside you twenty-four seven! You are more woman than any other female I know, and I love the way you feel in my arms. I literally ache from wanting you most of the time. Please don't doubt your appeal anymore. I love you Bella, just the way you are!"

I nodded as he placed me gently back on my feet. I hadn't realized how much I still harbored ill feelings towards my imperfect body. I hated the small silver stretch marks that lined the bottom of my stomach and I thought my ass was too fat. But listening to him state plainly how he felt, I really thought about it and decided that he was right. I had the problem and not him. He truly loved me, the way I was. Just like I loved him the way he was, without reservations. I could feel those unresolved feelings about my body start to fade away.

Edward looked down at me and smiled as I came to that conclusion. I smiled back at him and let myself be led over to the water hole. It was probably about an acre in size and was surrounded with shrubs and trees. I looked out over the water and could see the reflection of the hot Texas sky in it. The water was deep enough that it would hit Edward probably about neck level. Deciding to bite the bullet, I slowly eased into the cool water, pulling Edward in behind me. Once we got to my chest level, I released his hand and plunged under the water. I came up stuttering from the shock of the cold water on my overheated body. Edward was laughing at me until I splashed him. He drew in a quick breath before following my lead and taking the plunge.

We swam around and had a water fight, which Edward won by cheating. He laughed and told me that it wasn't his fault that I got distracted by his body. That just pissed me off so in retaliation I reached up and untied the strings of my top. I ducked down and pulled it off, along with my bottoms before standing back up. When I had Edward's undivided attention, I pulled the swim suit out of the water so he could see it. When his eyes widened, I threw it up onto the bank. I watched his whole body shudder as he realized that I had absolutely nothing on.

Throwing me a quick smile, he went underneath the cool water. When he resurfaced, he was holding his swim trunks in his hands. He looked at me in challenge as he threw them up to land with my suit on the shore. I saw the steamy look in his hot gaze and turned to try to get away from him. I mean, the chase is all part of the fun!

I didn't get far at all before I felt his hand wrap around my ankle and pull me back into his hard body. When he had my body lined up with his, he ground his stiff member into my ass. We were both panting from the amazing feeling of our bodies gliding against the other in the coolness of the water.

He turned me to face him and I was quick to wrap my arms and legs around him. I could feel his turgid member caressing my wet folds, the barbell hitting my clit once before settling close to my opening. I gasped from the tide of heat that rose from my center. Placing hungry kisses against his chest, neck, and lips I tried to maneuver myself closer to him. He took control and raised my body up and in one quick motion, I was impaled on his massive length. We moaned from the contact as he began to stroke my insides with sure steady strokes. I leaned back, trusting him to hold me above the water with his grip on my hips, so that I could change the angle that his thrusts were hitting me.

When his tip found my g-spot I gasped out and told him, "please Baby! Right there!" He obliged by holding steady and just grinding against me, rubbing the head of his manhood and barbell up and down my inner walls.

Even in the water I could feel the wetness seeping out of me. He moved one hand to rub my clit with his rough thumb. Pressing firmly, he gritted out between his teeth for me to come with him. When I heard his gritty voice that sounded of pure sex, I fell apart in his arms. Like always, he was there to catch me and bring me back to earth. I could feel him shudder against me as he chanted my name like a prayer as he came inside me. I stroked his chest softly as he came back down to earth. We were always there for the other, to bring us back from our highs of pleasure.

He gently pulled out of my depths and lowered me back down his body as he placed kisses on my swollen lips. We stood there in the water, holding on to each other for a little while before we went back to shore.

Walking up on the bank, he leaned over and picked up our wet clothes and we struggled on getting them back on. I started giggling at him as he stumbled around, trying to get his leg through his wet shorts. He laughed with me as I ran into the same trouble myself. He finally had to come over and hold me up because I was in danger of falling over as I laughed and pulled up my bottoms simultaneously. I kept losing my balance as the wet bottoms clung to my wet body. After several minutes we managed to redress ourselves.

I led the way over to our blanket and pulled out the food and water so we could have lunch. It was a simple meal, but filling all the same. They were just plain turkey and provolone cheese sandwiches along with some ruffles, but they tasted so good after our water play.

When we finished eating, we cleaned up our mess and sat for a while and talked. I ended up telling him the whole story of me and James and how after I won the lottery he started to pull away from me then the final straw came when I was thinking about moving and he told me that we would be better as just friends. Edward said that he was an ass for being that way, but that he was very grateful he was, as that left me for him.

"Bella, I'm glad that he is such an ass. I don't like that he hurt you, but I'm so glad that you were there when we met. I can't imagine my life without you in it Baby," he told me while mesmerizing me with his deep, emerald gaze.

His eyes were a very deep green, and I noticed that they did that whenever he was thinking about how much he loved me.

"I am too, Edward. When I think back to our relationship, I was actually contemplating getting married to that jerk. I thank God every day that things didn't work out between us. The longer we were together, the worse he started treating me. He would put me down and call me fat. Especially when I was pregnant with Gracie. Then he would tell me that I was lucky that he was interested in me at all, and that I should be thankful for that. He also started to volunteer me to pay for trips that we were going on and he would invite all of our friends to go along with me left to foot the bill. He used me and made me feel like shit. Of course when I was with him, I didn't see any of this. It was after I moved to Rico with Gracie and there was space between us that it started to sink in." I told him. "I thank my lucky stars that Mom and Dad convinced me to get him to sign over his parental rights to Gracie. I can't imagine having to deal with him on a regular basis!" I couldn't make myself look at him right then. Talking about all of those old memories made me feel terrible and self-doubting yet again.

I was startled when Edward reached out to cup my face in his big warm hand. He turned it so that he could look me in the eyes before he lay me back gently on the blanket. I wasn't sure what he was doing as he hovered over me. His hands drifted down my body and settled on the waist of my swim shorts. Wrapping his fingers in the top he slowly pulled them from my body. When I started to protest, he just stared me down until I gave in. When he had the shorts off my body he reached up and untied the halter top and pulled it carefully over my head. When I was completely unclothed, he sat back and stared at my body from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

Moving to my feet, he picked one leg up and began to place gentle kisses on it, going up to my knees and then up my thigh. When he reached the the apex he then started over on the other leg. My breathing sped up to short gasps as he neared my wet center, but he gave my nub a quick lick before moving up to my stomach. When he got to the small silver stretch marks, he proceeded to kiss every one of them.

"Baby, these prove to me that you are a real woman, and not a puppet who is afraid to live, eat, and be happy with who you are. These are your proof that Gracie is part of our lives! I don't care that they are here. They do not detract from your beauty at all and I love them, because I love you," he told me softly between kisses. He moved up to my bellybutton and placed a soft kiss on it before moving up to my chest. His fingers trailed up my sides and gently cupped a breast in each hand. Running his thumb over my nipples, once they had hardened to his satisfaction, he leaned down and ran his warm tongue over them, gently sucking on them. When he was sufficiently satisfied there, he placed open-mouthed kisses up to my neck and along my jaw to my lips.

As he settled between my legs, against my mound, I realized that at some point when I wasn't paying attention he had shed his shorts.

My hands traced patterns over his back and shoulder's as he nipped at my lips with his teeth. I could feel his hardness pressed against me and I lifted my legs to wrap them around his narrow waist. Doing that opened me up further and I felt his manhood slip down to settle at my opening. By moving slightly I was able to slide him inside me. Edward slid easily through my wet warmth and buried himself as deeply as possible in my body.

"I love you Baby," he whispered as he began to rock gently against me.

I met him thrust for thrust as we climbed the mountain of our pleasure. When we fell over the edge I told him over and over how much I loved him.

I held him tightly to my sweaty body, not wanting him to move quite yet. He settled his weight onto his forearms so he wouldn't squash me and rested his forehead against mine. I stared up at this wonderful man and wondered yet again how I had gotten lucky enough to have him in my life.

"I'm the lucky one Bella. I am so thankful that you're in my life. I love you," he told me quietly. His long bronze hair created a curtain around us, sheltering us from the world.

I reached up and threaded strands of his hair between my fingers, letting it flow between them before I traced his strong features with my fingertips. I followed the arch of his eyebrows, down the slope of his nose until I came to his full firm lips. He kissed my fingers as I traced his bottom lip back and forth slowly. Then I trailed my fingers down over his chin and to his chest.

We lay there for a bit longer before we once again got dressed. Edward decided that he was definitely getting his hair cut today once we had gotten on some clean, dry clothes. It was getting on towards supper time and we knew that we had to get back to the house. I wasn't sure when we would get more time alone again. Mom had us visiting someone or somewhere everyday. The Labor Day picnic was Monday. The whole town turns out for it every year and I knew that I wouldn't be able to talk our way out of going. I was dreading it because I know that some of the people from my old circle of friends would be there. I knew that I wouldn't be able to avoid them forever, but hoped that I wouldn't have to talk to them any time soon.

"Baby, why don't you want to see any of your friends? Is it because of me?" Edward asked me.

"What? No!" I reassured him quickly. "Edward, that whole group of people used me for what ever they could get, without thinking about what it would do to me. I can't help but feel like you shouldn't use your friends, no matter how much money they have."

"Well, as long as it's not because of me. I don't and won't come between you and your friends," he told me as he led us back to the car, the cooler once again ensconced on his broad shoulder.

I nodded in agreement as I followed him. Once we were in the car, I looked over at him and asked him a most important question.

"So, Baby, are you ready to cut it off?" I teased him with a smirk.

Edward just looked over at me before giving me a half grin and replied "Hell yeah! Let's get it done!"

I tried my hardest to picture him with out his long hair, but I was having a really hard time with it at the moment. I knew it wouldn't be long before I was faced with the reality of it and I was really excited about it.


	16. Chapter 16

S. Meyer owns it all. Storyline is mine. Here is the haircut people. I hope I did it justice. I have had such a great response to this story and it makes my day when I get all of the reviews and favorites in my inbox! :) Thanks so much!

Chapter 16

We got back to the house quickly and cleaned up for our trip to the hair salon. Gracie was so happy to see us when we got home. She excitedly told us about her day with her Mamaw and Poppy as she went back and forth from my lap to Edward's lap. Once she was settled down from her story telling, I told her that Edward and I had to go back out for a while. She wanted to go with us so I took her upstairs with us when we changed into different clothes. Edward pulled on a worn pair of dark wash jeans that fit him like a second skin, an Eagles concert tee, and his black chucks. I pulled on one of my sundresses that came to my knees. It was mint green and very light weight. I looked Gracie over and decided that she would be fine in what she had on and only needed her hair brushed and put into a pony tail.

As soon as we were ready, I excitedly grabbed Edward's hand in mine and pulled him to the door. He grabbed Gracie up in his arms and settled her on one of his shoulder's while we walked downstairs to the front door. We told Mom and Dad bye as we headed out to the car. I watched as Edward strapped Gracie into her seat as I climbed up into the driver's seat. When we were all ready to go, I drove us to The Styling Station on Main Street. I had to laugh a little at Edward's look of apprehension as we walked up to the front door. Gracie just looked up at us as if we were crazy. She had no idea why I was laughing.

"Hey Gracie, Guess what? Edward's gonna have his hair cut! How do you like that?" I asked her in a silly voice.

"Ok," she said. Nothing like a kid to be short, sweet, and to the point!

We walked in and I asked Marge if there was an available slot and I swear she was drooling before her jaw snapped shut as I called out to her. She looked over her appointment book after taking her large blue eyes off of Edward.

"Umm. . . yeah, I can fit him in in about ten minutes if you want to wait," she said as she finally got her self together.

I nodded in agreement before taking Edward and Gracie over to the waiting area. I gave Gracie a hair style book to look through and she was content to sit and point out the kind of style she wanted Edward to get. When she pointed out a purple mohawk, he silently took the book from her and put it away. I tried not to laugh at him, I really did! I just couldn't help the snicker that came out when I looked at the expression on his face when she had told him that that was what she wanted him to have. I took a style book from the shelf and looked through the cuts and found one that I thought would look good on him, but told him that what ever he got, I would be happy with.

Promptly ten minutes later Marge came over to let us know that she was ready to get started. I asked Edward if he wanted us to wait or come with him and he told me that I should just wait with Gracie and that he would come surprise us when he was finished. I gave him a quick kiss and hug before letting him know that we were going to go across the street to the diner to get an ice-cream cone. He promised to meet us over there as soon as he was finished and with a kiss to us both he headed on back.

Gracie was excited about getting an ice-cream. She squealed in excitement as we made our way across the street to the diner. Once I opened the door she bolted to the ice-cream counter and pressed her little nose against the glass as she peered at all of the choices.

"So, what are you thinking about getting sweetie?" I asked Gracie as I perused the different choices.

"Mommy, there are so many. Ooohhh, can I have the rainbow colored one?" she asked me with her big puppy dog eyes.

"Sure sweetie." I told her before making my way over to the counter to order.

When we each had a cone of ice-cream, hers rainbow sherbet and mine a chocolate chip cookie dough, we found a booth to sit in while we ate. We had finished our ice-cream and were sitting there talking about the picnic when Gracie's eyes widened as she stared towards to door. I glanced over to see what caused that reaction when I felt my jaw drop and my eyes glaze over.

"Damn Baby! You look so great!" I thought to him as he sauntered over to our booth. His long hair was gone and he sheepishly ran his fingers thorough his short shaggy cut. It was amazing how it seemed to be messy no matter how many times he tried to get it to lay down. I couldn't believe how sexy he looked. He totally had a case of sex hair. I never thought that I would use that term about anyone, but that was the only way to describe it!

Edward slid into the booth next to me and my fingers automatically went to the back of his head and it was just amazing how it felt. I knew his hair was soft, but now that it was shorter, it just felt wonderful sliding between my fingers. It was going to be so hard to keep my hands to myself now.

"Well, what do you think Bella? Is it me?" he asked me with his trade mark grin.

"I think that it looks amazing Baby. It really suits you. Don't get me wrong, I really really liked your long hair, but this. . . this is just. . . I really don't have the words to describe it," I told him as my fingers once again found their way into his hair.

"I'm glad that you like it. It is definitely much cooler. It does feel strange that it's not their anymore though.

"I'm glad Baby. Did I tell you that I love you today?" I asked him as I nuzzled my nose into his ear and quickly flicked it with the tip of my tongue before pulling away.

Edward groaned quietly before he leaned over and whispered against my neck, "Baby you have told me that today, but I will never get tired of hearing those three words coming out of your mouth."

I sat up straighter in my seat and tried to steer the conversation towards something that was less arousing to me right now. I knew that if I didn't I would be tempted beyond reason to attack his mouth and even though it was what I wanted most, I knew that it wasn't really appropriate since we were sitting right across from a wide eyed Gracie and in public at that. Edward declined an ice cream cone and we decided to head on home.

When we got there, my parents were speechless when they saw Edward's hair cut, but that didn't last very long with my mom. After he gracefully accepted all of the compliments from my mom we spent a few hours talking to my parents about the picnic and what we had planned for the next day. Mom and Dad wanted us to go visit relatives. We were going to Nana and Poppa's tomorrow and my Aunt Evelyn's on Tuesday. I put my foot down and let them know that I wasn't planning anymore visits. We would see how things went from there.

Mom let me know that there was a party for the young people being held at the community center on Monday night. She talked us into going, saying that some of my cousins would be there and that they wanted me to come so that we could catch up with each other. It also didn't help that they were full of questions about Edward.

The next day passed in a blur of Family. Edward was a hit with my grandparents, even with his tattoos. They saw him for what he really is, and not the man his appearance leads you to believe he is. What won them over totally was how Edward took care of Gracie when she needed him. He didn't hesitate at all when she wanted him to help her or if she just wanted to sit on his lap when she got overwhelmed with all of the attention that was focused on her.

We spent several hours there with them. They had been a little leery of Samson and Delilah at first, but soon got comfortable with them. Delilah took right up to my Poppa and wouldn't let him ignore her. She insisted that he pet her. We all had a good laugh as she kept nudging his knees, hands, or feet, trying to get his attention. He finally relented, and scratched her behind her ears. She repaid him by about squishing him in his recliner when she leaned against him.

When it was time to leave, Nana pulled me to the side as Edward was talking to Poppa with Gracie sitting on his shoulders.

"Bella, you better hold on to that man of yours. He is such a gentleman, even though he has all those tattoos on him. But, anyway, as I was saying. He's a gentleman Bells. You don't see many of them now a days," she told me while giving me a fierce hug.

"I don't plan on ever letting him go Nana. I love him!" I told her as I returned her hug. "We'll see you guys later OK? Are you coming to the picnic tomorrow?"

"We'll be there if your Poppa feels up to it. We'll look for you if we come," she told me before walking over to give Edward a hug.

That was a comical sight, because my Nana, bless her heart, stood all of four feet ten inches tall. She made me think of a little kid with a grey wig giving Edward his hug. I tried not to laugh, but Edward noticed the smirk on my face and shot me a glare. He knew that if I got started laughing, then I wouldn't be able to stop and then he would end up laughing along with me. He really didn't want to hurt her feelings. He liked Nana and wanted to stay in her good graces.

I walked over to Poppa and gave him a big ol' hug. He held me close and told me that he really liked Edward. I let him know how glad I was that they approved of him. Poppa leaned in and kissed me on the cheek before stepping back beside Nana, wrapping one arm around her waist.

Edward and I walked down the cobblestone walkway to the car with Gracie skipping along between us, and I called out that I loved them before we left. After getting back home, we took Samson and Delilah for a walk down my parent's road. They were happy to get out of the house for a while. The heat was really hard on them sometimes, though. We didn't go far before they were hassling and ready to go home. When we got to the yard, we took them off of their leashes and let them roam around for a bit while we slowly walked to the porch. We parked our butts on the swing and enjoyed a smoke before we went inside to spend more time with Mom and Dad.

That night, I had a couple of bad dreams about meeting up with my friends and them showing their asses about how things ended between us. I woke up suddenly, finding myself sitting upright in bed. Thankfully I hadn't disturbed Edward. I settled back down, laying as close to him as I could. Even in his sleep he knew that I needed him. He automatically wrapped his arm around me when I lay my head on his chest. I felt myself getting drowsy again. Sleep finally overtook me and all to soon, I heard Mom knocking lightly on the bedroom door.

I slowly climbed out of bed, being careful to not wake up Edward. When I got to the door, I opened it up and let the dogs out before I slid out myself.

"Good morning Bella. Did you sleep well?" She asked as we walked side by side downstairs.

After letting the dogs out we went to the kitchen for some coffee. "It was OK. I kept having bad dreams about running into my old friends. I know that I'm making more out of things in my head than they warrant, but my brain seems to insist on it." I told her before taking a sip from my coffee mug.

"Honey, everything will be fine. If they get to be to much, then you can leave. I promise not to make a big deal over it. Your Daddy and I are just happy to have you home this week. We don't want you do have to do anything you're uncomfortable with," she told me, her hand on my arm.

"Thanks Mom. Thanks for understanding. I don't know why I keep worrying about it. I guess we left things in such a mess when I moved away. I thought they were really happy for me, but in the end they were just jealous. Has this happened with any of your old friends? Did they stop being your friends when we won?" I sadly asked her.

"Well, there were a few who expected us to foot their bills, no matter what. After we explained that it wasn't going to happen, some of them stopped coming around. They were offended that we didn't just dole out the money to them whenever they wanted. Your Daddy and I made the decision that we were better off without friends like that. It hurt when it happened, but we didn't let them bring us down and make us unhappy, Baby girl. That's what your going to have to do. Think about all you have gained from moving away to Rico and standing up to those so called friends of yours. The main thing that I see is Edward. Baby Girl, if you had stayed and been sucked into James's ideas of a relationship and what those so called friends thought was a good friendship, you wouldn't have Edward in your life right now. I can tell by just watching the two of you how much you love each other. That is something that don't come by everyday. When it does, don't regret the past, you have to embrace the future!" she told me.

"Momma, how do you always know the right things to say to make me feel better?"I asked her as I reached over and wrapped my arms tightly around her neck.

"Because, Baby Girl, I'm your momma. That's what we do!" she said with a laugh.

"Well, I'll try today. I don't want the hard feelings from the past to ruin everything. Who knows, maybe they will be civil? I can always hope, right?" I told her with a sigh.

We sat there at the bar, talking about the food that we were going to prepare for the picnic and drinking coffee. Before too long we heard footsteps on the stairs. I looked over to see Edward coming through the kitchen doorway, wearing a pair of cutoff shorts that were slung very low on his hips and a white wife-beater tee shirt. He had Gracie slung over his shoulder and she was giggling like crazy as he tickled her sides.

I could feel the blush start to spread across my cheeks as I thought sinful things about his amazing body. He walked over to me after sitting Gracie down in a chair at the table with a slight smile on his lips. When he was next to me, he leaned over and brushed his lips against mine. I could taste the mint from his toothpaste, mixed with his own unique flavor when he lightly brushed his tongue over my lower lip before pulling back and grabbing my mug of coffee.

"Morning Baby, did you sleep well?" he asked me. I watched as his full lips wrapped around the lip of my coffee mug and wished it was my lips instead.

"It was OK. How did you sleep?" I asked him as I reached out to try and get my coffee back.

Unfortunately, him being so tall was a hinderance to me, as he easily lifted it above his head. "Baby, I want it back!" I whined to him, my hands grasping the bottom edge of his shirt as I stood on my tip toes.

"What will you give me for it?" he smirked down at me, before taking another sip.

I looked over at my Mom and noticed that she was trying not to laugh, but her eyes were sparkling with mirth. I reached up and pulled his head down to mine and whispered a very naughty suggestion in his ear and he immediately handed me my mug back. I grinned in triumph as I took a sip. He reached out and pulled the mug from my hand and sat it on the counter. Before I could protest, he had lifted me and sat me on the counter and moved between my legs to get as close as possible before attacking my neck and ear with his lips. He trailed kisses up to my ear, and then whispered exactly what he planned to do to me in return. I knew my face was blood red. I buried it in his chest, trying to regain my composure when we suddenly realized that my mom was still sitting across from us.

What had brought us from our lust induced haze was the fact that she was laughing her ass off at us. She wasn't even trying to hide it. She was full-out busting a gut. I sheepishly looked over at her and she just started sputtering all over again. I turned my face to look up at Edward and saw that he was a little red also. He looked at me with a question in his eyes. I knew he wanted to know if we should try to play it off or if we should step up.

I shrugged my shoulder's at him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I lay my head against his chest, looking over at Mom. When she finally gained her composure, she just shook her head at us and walked out of the room. We could hear her chuckling on her way upstairs. We looked at each other and bust out laughing ourselves. We couldn't help it. Clinging to each other, we wiped the tears from our eyes before we finally moved to put a little space between us.

We went over to sit with Gracie at the table while she finished her bowl of cereal. Once she finished, she scampered off of the chair and said that she was going to look for her Mamaw before she left the room at a run. I called out for her to be careful on the stairs. I stood up and gathered her dirty dishes and took them over to the dishwasher and put them inside. I turned to find Edward standing behind me.

I slid my hand down Edward's chest, making sure to pass over his sensitive nipple, before stepping away from him. I slid my fingernails down his arm and twisted them with his before giving them a tug, trying to lead him from the room. He used my fingers to pull me against his chest, licking my top lip before sliding his tongue into my warm mouth. After a few quick flicks of his tongue on my own, he tugged gently on my bottom lip with his teeth while licking it lightly. When I moaned lightly in response, he finally pulled away and let me out of the room.

We were half-way up the stairs before I came to my senses. I huffed angrily up at him and he he just gave me an innocent smile in return. He knew what he was doing all along and didn't hesitate to use his wonderful mouth against me. I tried to stay angry at him, but really, who could resist the magic of his lips? Not me, that's for sure. I hid the smile that was playing at the corner of my mouth the best I could when he looked back down at me.

"Bella, come on Baby, don't be mad at me. . . you know I didn't mean any harm. I can't help it that it makes me feel good that I can do that to you with just a couple of kisses. You realize that you do the same thing to me, right?" He pleaded softly with me.

I decided to let him off the hook and looked up into the sincere look on his face. I pulled his lips down to mine and proceeded to kiss him until we were both panting for breath. Once I had succeeded in my plan I left him standing there, leaning against the wall. When I got to the landing, I looked down to see him leaned up on the wall. I quirked an eyebrow at him before letting him know that I was going to get in the shower and letting him know that he was welcome to join me.

Edward perked up at that and rushed up the stairs before he bent down and flung me over his shoulder. I screamed at the fright I got looking back down the tall staircase while hanging upside down. He slapped my ass as he walked back to my room. I slapped his ass in return and he flung me on my back in the middle of the bed. I tried to scoot away but he was too fast and he quickly covered my body with his own.

"Baby, that was an evil thing you just did to me out there. Leaving me propped up on the wall like a mindless nincompoop! What would your folks say if they had walked by and I was so damn addlebrained that I couldn't even say good morning to them? Huh?" he growled softly at me as his hands wondered over my body.

I mewled in reply as his wonderfully dexterous fingers found my hard nipples through my tee shirt. I tried to tell him that I loved him and I wouldn't have left him there, but he stole my breath away when he lowered his warm mouth to my breast and tongued the nipple through my shirt. I grabbed his hair in my fists and tugged his head up to look into his beautiful green eyes. I leaned up and pressed my lips to his and then trailed them to his ear so I could lightly suck his earlobe into my mouth. When I bit down gently, he hissed at me and pulled me flush against his body, so that I could feel the effect I had on him. I reminded him that we should really go get our shower, and his face brightened considerably when he remembered that I had invited him to join me.

Edward jumped up and slid me out of the bed before picking me up and carrying me to the bathroom. When he sat me down, I reached over and turned the water on. While waiting for it to get warm we shed our clothes, trailing kisses and fingers over each other's bodies as we traded touches. Trailing my fingers under the streaming water, I decided it was warm enough and turned to step in the shower. Edward stepped in behind me and turned me so that he could wet my hair. He washed and rinsed my hair and body in soft gentle touches before I returned the favor to him. When we were as clean as we could get, he picked me up easily and pressed me against the shower wall. Wrapping my legs around his hips, we moved together to join our bodies. Sighing in delight, we moved at a gentle pace at first, but soon our bodies demanded that we move faster and harder together to reach completion. I gasped out my love for him as I came. He leaned down and bit lightly on my collarbone when he shuddered as he came with me.

"I love you" he whispered as he gently rained kisses on me.

I tightened my grip on him when I replied that I loved him too. We calmed our bodies down and got out of the shower. Drying off, we went to get our clothes on. I was still trying to decide what to wear when Edward walked over with a pair of khaki cargo shorts on. He had a couple of shirts in hand and wanted to know which I thought he should wear.

One of them was a tee from an '80's movie, The Goonies, that had two pirate swords crossed and Never Say Die printed beneath it. The other was a short sleeved sky blue polo shirt. I laughed out loud when I saw the Goonies shirt. I loved that movie and thought it was one of the best, ever. Of course, that settled it and he had to wear it for me.

Edward smiled at me as he pulled it over his head. He placed a quick kiss on my lips and went to the bathroom to try to tame his copper mess of hair. While he was gone I pulled out a red halter top that tied behind my neck. It flowed down nicely to land right at my hips. I found a pair of Levi shorts to pull on with it. Once I had them on I found my brown flip flops and went to the bathroom to fix my hair. I pulled the heavy mass up and pinned it up with a hair clip. There were tendrils flowing down around my neck in waves of brown and pink. To finish up, I put on a light coat of mascara for my eyes and some lipstick.

Meeting Edward back in the bedroom, he gave me a once over and smiled his appreciation. His eyes kept coming back to the low cut of the halter top and the view that it gave him of my ample breasts. He tried valiantly to keep his eyes away, but failed miserably at it. I laughed at him as he looked once again at my breasts. He looked up at me unrepentantly for staring.

"Baby, you are so beautiful! . . . I love you," he ended on a whisper.

"Thanks Edward. Your not half bad yourself!" I flippantly replied to him.

I looked him over and a smile of appreciation settled on my mouth. I could barely see the outline of the barbells in his nipples and it made me want to run my fingers over them. I tried to be good though. I knew that we would be leaving soon to go to the picnic and if I started that, I wouldn't have time to finish whatever it was I would start.

"Come on Baby, we need to go help Momma with the food," I told him.

He walked over and pulled me close for a hug before leading me from the room and back downstairs. We found my mom and Gracie in the kitchen, packing up the last of the food in a basket.

"Do you need any help Momma?" I asked her as I walked in. I nosed in the basket and saw that she had made a huge batch of chicken and dumplings. I was in heaven as the delicious scent flooded my nose.

"Naw, you and Edward are fine. Gracie here helped me pack everything up, didn't you sweetie?" she said.

"I did Mommy! I helped Mamaw and put in napkins. Do you think I can have some cake? I really hope that we can go swing today," she kept on, finally trailing off as she realized that we were all smiling at her exuberance.

"We'll see about getting you some cake today, OK? And, I'm pretty sure that there are swings at the park. Edward and I will take you to swing sometime before we leave today? Will that work for you?" I teased her.

Gracie smiled a huge happy smile at me before she wondered out of the kitchen to find her Poppy.

"You can help load the car if you want to do something to help," Mom told me as she closed the lid of the basket.

"Yes Ma'am, We'd be happy to," Edward told her, being his usual charming self.

He went over and grabbed up the heavy basket easily, muscles rippling beneath his shirt and along his strong arms.

"Thank you Edward. That's great of you to help out," she told him with a small smile.

She watched him as he walked out of the door and towards the garage. When she caught me watching her, she gave me a sheepish smile with a shrug.

"Bells, that man is something else. You better hang on to him, especially today. You know some of those girls are going to try to show you up. They'll be on that man like white on rice! Keep him close, Baby Girl."

"Gee, thanks mom. Now I don't want to go! . . . But . . . then again, it'll feel great knowing that he's going home with me, no matter what they try!" I joked with her.

She looked me over and gave me a knowing look. "So, did you have a nice shower? Why, I do believe you're right down glowing! That must be some kind of body scrub you have in there!"

I could feel the heat from my blush covering my face as I started to stutter slightly, "Momma! It's . . . umm . . . " I finally gave up trying to make an excuse as Edward walked back through the door. I looked over at him and turned back to Momma with a big grin on my face, "Yeah, it was a great shower!" I told her, not in the least ashamed anymore.

"That's what I thought. Why I do believe that Edward is glowing too! Maybe I should try out that shower myself. I don't think I've come out of my shower glowing like that," she told me with a smirk on her full lips.

Edward looked at me, trying to figure out what he had missed. I let him know through our thought connection what mom had said to me. I swear that man started to blush a little as he realized what mom was getting at. He looked over at her and gave her a lopsided grin and nodded his head.

When I looked over at Momma, she was actually blushing now too. I found the whole situation funny and started to laugh. They both looked at me a minute, like I had lost my marbles, before they joined me in laughter. That was when my dad, along with Gracie, decided to make an appearance.

He looked at each of us in turn before asking, "do I even want to know?"

We each looked at the other before laughing again and shook our heads no. The great thing about my dad was that he didn't push. So shrugging it off, he walked over and wrapped his arms around my mom's waist and gave her a kiss. When he had completed his daily ritual, he moved to her side and left one of his arms around her. Mom leaned into his side and smiled up at him. Once again, I was so thankful that they had such a loving relationship after all these years.

"I hope that we are like that still when we have been together as long as they have." Edward thought to me as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder's.

Me too, Baby. That's what I have always wanted, to find a love like theirs. I think I've finally succeeded in that." I thought back to him while squeezing his waist.

"I think you have, Baby. I think you have," he thought back to me while he kissed the top of my head.

Gracie came over and demanded to be picked up by Edward. He swung her up above his head, making her tinkling laugh ring out in the kitchen, before he settled her on his hip. He was such a natural with her that it made me love him even more every time he did something like that.

We stood in the kitchen, making small talk while waiting for the time to pass so we could leave. Edward and I decided to go out and have a smoke while we waited. Calling Samson and Delilah to us, we went out on the porch. Gracie followed the dogs out in the yard and went to swing while they took care of their business. We had just finished up our cigarettes when my parents came out and said it was time to go. We went in and grabbed the dogs leashes before we went to the cars.

Mom and Dad went in their Lexus and wanted Gracie to ride with them. She was excited to go so that left Edward and I to go in the H3 with the dogs. It was a short trip to the park. It actually took longer to find a parking place than it did to get there.

We finally found a spot near my parents, and pulled in quickly before it could be taken by some of the other vehicles roaming around for a spot. Once we had parked, we got the dogs on their leashes and walked over to Mom, Dad, and Gracie. I took Samson's leash from Edward so that he could grab the heavy basket from the trunk of the Lexus.

My parents and Gracie led the way with Edward following behind them. I followed him with the dogs over to the picnic tables. Mom showed him where to set the basket and he gracefully lowered it to the table. I hadn't even gotten to him, and there were already several local females who had latched on to him with their eyes and had started to move towards him. I quickly closed the distance between us and moving both leashes to one hand, I wrapped my free arm around his waist. He took Delilah's leash with one hand and wrapped his other around my shoulder's.

"Baby, please stay close OK? The women here are kinda like sharks with fresh blood when a new guy comes to town. Then, the local guys get jealous and try to start shit with whoever the new meat is. Unfortunately, you are the new meat today. I'm sorry that I didn't warn you before. I didn't think about it until this morning when Mom brought it up. You forgive me?" I thought to him. I leaned back slightly so that I could see his reaction and he just smiled down at me, unfazed.

"Bella don't worry. I won't let any of these sharks get me, I promise! If they get to be to much I will let you know, but I think I can take care of myself," he thought back to me.

If only he understood how bad they could get. I've actually seen them get into a fight over fresh meat that came to town. It got to be pretty awful, and soon girls learned to not bring in guys that much. It was sad, really, that they behaved that bad. I had never understood how or why they would do that myself.

Edward caught all those thoughts and looked at me in amazement. "It's really that bad?" he thought.

I just nodded my head in the affirmative where it was resting against his arm. He shook his head in disbelief, but agreed to stay close to me.

I saw many people that I hadn't seen in at least a year, some longer. I got reacquainted with some of my parents friends and when I ran into some of my old friends, most of them either ignored me, gave me death stares, or tried to pretend that nothing had ever happened between us.

Samson and Delilah were a big hit as well. Most people had seen Delilah before, but to see her and Samson together was a sight to behold. A lot of the people were amazed at how well behaved they were. We didn't have to struggle to hold their leashes because they were pulling on us and they stayed by our sides. We saw several smaller dogs who were really misbehaving. They were pulling really badly on their leashes and wouldn't listen to their owners. Edward and I exchanged smug grins as we thought to each other how much we were thankful that we had done obedience school with our dogs.

Things came to a head with Delilah when I ran into Sally Johnson. She was an old school acquaintance of mine and she had a small yappy dog that would not leave Delilah alone. Delilah tried to remain aloof and behave, but when the little dog jumped up and bit her on the ear, she reached out one massive paw and pinned her easily to the ground. Sally of course took offense to the treatment of her precious little dog, but I staunchly defended Delilah and told her that if she had more control over her dog, it wouldn't be pinned to the ground right now. She of course didn't agree with me and left in a huff. Edward and I shrugged it off and would not let it upset our day.

We walked around some more before it was time to eat. When the call was made to come get a plate, we went over and got a couple of plates. Edward decided to hold the dogs a little to the side of me so they wouldn't be near the table and the food while I fixed our plates. After getting a good selection of food for us and Gracie, I led him over to a tree where my parents had spread out a few folding chairs. Edward and I sat down near each other and of course Gracie climbed up on Edward's lap. It was second nature to her now. She felt no qualms about claiming him for a seat when ever she needed one. Samson and Delilah settled down on the ground between us. We ate and talked and ate some more. It was a really great time.

We had just about finished eating when I heard someone calling my name. I looked up and saw James making a bee line for me. I groaned to myself and looked over at Edward. He looked at me with condolence in his eyes, because he knew how much I was not looking forward to this. When James got nearer he drew up when he saw Samson and Delilah laying on the ground between him and me.

"Wow, Bella. Those are some really big dogs you've got. Don't you think they're a bit much for someone of your size to handle? I mean, you really aren't the strongest person. What if one of them decided to attack someone? How would you stop them?" he condescended to me.

"Well, James. I guess it all depend on who they're trying to attack! And, for your information, only Delilah is mine. Samson belongs to Edward. As for not being strong enough to hold her back, well she has been extensively trained and listens better than most people do." I told him angrily. It pissed me off the way he started to immediately put down my choice in a dog. It was none of his damn business what kind of dog I have.

"Sorry, Sorry! I didn't mean to upset you, Honey! I just came by to invite you to the party at the rec center tonight. I didn't know if you had heard about it since you had just gotten into town. Everyone would love to see you and get a chance to talk to you a while!" he quickly told me.

"James, don't call me Honey! As for the party, Momma has already told me about it and Edward and I were planning on going, for a while at least." I told him.

"Great, that's great Bella. Everyone will be excited to hear that your coming! I'll see you later tonight then!" he told me before he rushed away, not even acknowledging Edward, Gracie, or my parents.

I shrugged my shoulder's at all of them and told them I didn't know what had gotten into him. They all agreed that he was acting weird, but put it off to having Edward staring him down along with being faced by the two big dogs. We put it behind us and enjoyed the rest of the day at the picnic.

Around five we all decided to head on home. It had been a long day for everyone. Gracie was asleep on Edward's shoulder as we went back to the cars. We had spent the last six hours at the park and everyone was tired. Now I had tonight to look forward to, and I still wasn't how sure I was about going.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and Edward's haircut. I hope everyone has a great weekend! :)


	17. Chapter 17

Meyer owns Twilight, I own this storyline. There is some drama in this chapter with James but it is all taken care of in one chapter with no cliffies. I hate cliff hangers! LOL Thanks for the awesome reviews! I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 17

When we got home, Edward and I both took a quick shower to wash off the sweat from the day and to get freshened up for the party. Edward dressed in a pair of snug black button-fly jeans that, like always, were slung low on his hips. He had on a black button down shirt with the sleeves rolled and pushed up to his elbows. His hair was a crazy mess and overall, he was sexy as hell. I had opted for a blue jean-skirt with a white, gauzy, peasant blouse. I slid on some white sandals and was ready to go. Edward was waiting for me downstairs and I went to join him and my parents.

When I walked in, Edward immediately stood up and waited for me to come to him. When I got there he kissed my cheek and whispered to me that I was beautiful. I smiled demurely up at him in thanks and looked over at my parents. They smiled over at us proudly. I wasn't sure why that was, but didn't question it too much.

Edward asked me if I was ready to go and I nodded in affirmation to him. We said goodbye to my parents and gave Gracie her goodnight hugs and kisses and then called Samson and Delilah to us. We chose to take them with us and leave them in the H3. When all good byes were said and done we went out to the car.

Edward opened my door for me and helped me in by picking me up and setting me on the seat. I had gotten used to this habit of his over the months and accepted it without complaint. He had convinced me that it was fine and that I wasn't to complain when he did it. He liked manhandling me like that, and to be totally honest with myself, I found it an incredible turn-on that he could do it so easily.

After he got me situated, he went around and climbed inside after loading up the dogs in the back. We lit up our cigarettes and smoked on the way to the rec center. It was just a hop, skip, and a jump and we were there. I was surprised at the number of vehicles that were parked around. I hadn't expected that many people to be here. I just hoped that everything went well.

Edward found a parking place and came around to help me out of the car. We told the dogs that we would be back soon and left the windows rolled most of the way down for them. We walked hand in hand to the doors. Getting inside, I noticed several people looking us over. We mingled for about an hour, Edward drinking a Jack and coke while I was sipping on an Amaretto sour. It wasn't too long before James found us.

He requested to speak to me along for a moment. I was wary of going with him. I didn't want to upset Edward, and to be honest, I really didn't want to leave him alone in there.

Edward thought "Baby, I'll be fine and then if you're not back in five minutes I'll make sure to come and find you, OK?"

I reluctantly agreed to speak with James. I quickly finished the rest of my drink and I left Edward standing beside the wall near the door while I followed James out the side door.

He led me over to some trees beside the building before he turned to me. "Thanks for coming out to speak with me. I just wanted to ask you about what I told you the other day. I really would like to get back together with you Honey. I miss you. We could be great together again. I know you're here with that tattooed freak, but we can ditch him. I love you Bella!" he told me. "Oh, and I really want to be Gracie's dad now, too. I think that I would be good at it," he said as an afterthought.

I was absolutely livid. I couldn't believe that this idiot would have the nerve to talk to me that way about Edward and about being a dad to Gracie. Before I could say anything to him though, he quickly told me he would be back with me a drink. I stood there fuming while he was gone. I was honestly too angry to go anywhere. I couldn't even concentrate enough to let Edward know that I would be back in momentarily.

James came back with a drink for me. He pressed it into my hand insisting I drink with him. I quickly downed the drink so that I could tell him off. I started ranting at him about how he had treated me and Gracie and the nerve he had to say those things about Edward.

"James, you don't even know him! You can't judge him because of his tattoos. That is so wrong of you. I happen to love him and his tattoos. Not to mention that he is a hundred times the man that you are! As for Gracie, she has a Dad! Edward is like a father to her and I wouldn't have it any other way! I don't want you to come . . . come . . ."

I started to slur a little as I felt my vision dimming. I shook my head to try to clear it. My vision swam and I saw two James's smirking evilly at me. "Wha, whaaattt diiid youuu. . . " I slurred even worse and I felt my sight getting darker. I tried to call out for Edward, but couldn't get my mouth to work right. I sent out a jumbled thought to him, praying that he was listening for me.

I felt my knees began to buckle beneath me as James laughed at me. He quickly grabbed me before I fell and I felt him swoop me up in his arms. I heard him grunting as he tried to walk quickly from the rec center. In a daze, I felt myself being lowered down on a blanket and that was when I realized that he had planned the whole thing.

"Bella, I will make Edward leave you then! He won't want you anymore when he find out that you slept with me again, while he was only a few hundred yards away. Then you will have to take me back!" he raved manically.

I started to really get worried because I couldn't seem to move my body at all. I could feel his hot hands as they went under my shirt to pinch my nipple roughly. All I could get out was a moan of protest, which he took as a moan of delight. He excitedly reached underneath my skirt and palmed me over my underwear. Inside I was screaming frantically, trying to get my body to obey my mind.

"Bella! Where are you! What's happening to you!" I heard Edward thinking frantically to me. I felt such relief as I tried to let him know what was going on. I zoned out as I felt James trying to get my panties down over my hips when I thought I heard dogs barking.

The next thing I knew James's hot hands were gone from my body. I could hear dogs growling menacingly beside me before I felt the warm roughness of Edward hands pulling my panties back up. He disappeared and I heard flesh meeting flesh. I finally got my head to obey my thoughts and turned to see Edward pummeling away at someone. I called out for him weakly, wanting him to hold me.

When he sensed my thoughts, he quickly left what he was doing to gather me into his arms. I felt so safe when he held me and wished to never leave this safe haven. Edward gathered me close and sat me on his lap. He gently ran his hands over my body protectively while he rocked me back and forth. When he had composed himself enough he pulled out his cell phone and called 911. After explaining to them what had happened, he hung up and commenced rocking me again.

I couldn't stay focused enough to really know what was going on. Everything kept going in and out of focus. When I next had a lucid moment, I realized that there were policemen there. I heard them ask Edward to call off the dogs.

"Samson! Delilah! Come!" I heard him bark out.

When they finally relinquished their guard position, they came over and lay on either side of us. I was very fuzzy about why they were there with us, but couldn't get my thoughts together enough to ask. I could feel the vibrations from Edward's chest as he talked to someone, but couldn't muster up enough energy to look to see who it was. I felt as though I was floating throughout the whole conversation.

"Bella, Baby . . . can you hear me? Do you understand me? I have to let the paramedics check you over. Is that OK Baby?" I heard through the rumbles in his chest.

I tried to speak, but couldn't get the words out so I nodded instead. I trusted Edward to not let anything else happen to me. At my nod, he got up from the ground and I could feel movement as he walked me over to the gurney. He lay me down gently and reluctantly stepped away.

I'm still not sure what happened with the paramedics, but eventually I heard them say that I should be taken in so that tests could be run to see what I had been dosed with. Edward agreed with them, and soon I felt the gurney start to move. I tried to protest being away from him, but couldn't. I slowly began to fade away as the heaviness and darkness overtook me.

When I came to, I looked up to see white tiles above me and I could hear an obnoxious beeping in the background. Turning my head to the right, I could see Edward sitting there asleep in a chair. I looked a little further and could see that I was in a hospital room.

"Edward?" I said hoarsely. My mouth felt full of cotton balls and it was hard to say just his name.

He jumped slightly and quickly looked over at me. "Baby! I'm so glad that your awake! I was so scared for you!" He told me as he moved over to kiss my forehead.

"Water," I croaked out to him.

He rushed to fill me a cup with water from the little pitcher on the bedside stand. He placed a straw in it and held it up for me to drink from. The cold wet liquid was like heaven sliding down my parched throat. After drinking over half of it, I finally felt like I could carry on a conversation.

"What happened? I remember James giving me a drink and insisting I drink with him, but then it got really fuzzy," I asked him quietly

"Well, after you left, I felt odd. I could hear you talking to him in my thoughts and decided to go outside to be closer to you. Everything seemed to be OK so I went to the restroom. When I was on the way back outside I caught your jumbled thoughts. I ran outside, but I couldn't find you anywhere. I was so scared Baby! Thats when I heard Samson and Delilah barking from the car. I figured that they would be able to find you faster than I could. I let them out and told them to find you. They took off like a bat out of hell and I ran after them. When I heard him tell you that he would make me leave you, I was so pissed that all I wanted to do was bash his head in! When I caught up to them, they had James pinned down on the ground growling at him. I've never been so proud of them before now. When I looked over and saw that he had tried to get your clothes off, Baby, I saw red! I pulled your panties back up and I couldn't help it, I beat the shit out of that sorry excuse for a man. Please tell me that nothing happened to you! Please! I would never forgive myself if I let anything happen to you!" he begged me roughly.

I looked up at him and saw his eyes shining brightly. He was so close to tears and was trying to be strong in front of me. I slowly reached out and grabbed his hand in mine. I loved him so much at that moment. I wanted to let him know that I was fine, but I couldn't get the words past the lump in my throat. So, instead of talking I reached up for him. He saw what I wanted and leaned down and gathered me in his arms and held me tightly.

"Edward, nothing happened! He tried, I guess, but all he did was feel me over my underwear. That was disgusting enough. I just want to take a shower and scrub his touch off of me! Why would he do that to me?" I thought to him as tears filled my eyes.

I couldn't believe that he would go that far. I never would have thought him capable of treating me like that. As the tears leaked out I buried my face in Edward's chest to hide it from him. He knew though and pulled back to look at me. He gently grasped my face between his bruised hands and leaned down and kissed me lightly on the lips.

"Bella, I love you Baby! I don't know why he would stoop to such a level, I really don't. I just hope that he gets what's coming to him. He was taken in to the police station and there will be some officers coming by in a while to get our statements. Please don't think that any of this was your fault, OK?" he asked me roughly.

"I'll be OK. It's just a lot to process right now," I replied truthfully.

I finally convinced him to lay down in the bed with me. I didn't want any space between us. I needed to feel his big body wrapped around me. He made me feel so safe when I was wrapped in his arms. I snuggled as close as I could get to him and rested my face in the crook of his neck, breathing him in, in big gulps of air. I could feel my tense body start to relax as his scent enveloped me.

We lay there for probably half an hour before there was a light knock on the door. Edward told who ever it was to come in and I found out it was the officers who were there to take our statements. It was about twenty minutes later before they were finished. They let Edward know that there would be no charges against him for beating up James. It was considered in self-defense since they found out that James had a knife on him. The officers finished up soon after, getting my statement and all of the details that I could remember, and left us alone.

The doctor came in next and let me know that I had been given some kind of date rape drug, and that it should be completely out of my system in another hour or so. I was happy to hear that and the fact that I would be able to be discharged when my tox screen came back clean.

The Doctor left and my Dad came in. Mom was frantic, but had stayed home with Gracie. Dad was just pissed off. He started to rant and rave about James and what kind of parents he was born to, before he could or would settle down any. I told him that I loved him, that I was fine, and that he should go home. There was nothing here they could do, and there was no sense in them having to hang around and be miserable here.

I finally convinced Dad to take Samson and Delilah home for us. Edward had to leave them in the H3 when he had gotten to the hospital and I knew that they had to be upset. I knew that they would be upset with what had happened too. They were so sensitive to how we felt, and for them to hold someone at bay like that is something that they had never had to do before. My dad promised to give them some loving for us, and try to make them comfortable while they waited for us to get home.

Dad leaned over the edge of the bed and kissed me cheek. He told me how much he loved me and he looked over at Edward.

"Edward, thank you for saving my baby from what James had planned to do to her. You will have my eternal gratitude for that," he said as he reached out a hand to shake Edward's.

"You're welcome Mr. Swan. I would do anything for Bella! I love her, Sir." Edward said.

"I'm glad to hear it boy, glad to hear it. Well I guess I'll see you at home in a few hours. I know Samson and Delilah will be happy to see you two again," Dad said.

We said our goodbye's to my Dad before settling back in the bed. The nurses came in an hour later to draw more blood for the tox screen. The doctor came in about an hour after that and let me know that I was free to go. My blood work came back free of any toxins, and he told me to come back if I experienced any of a list of side effects he gave me. I promised to take it easy and he had me sign the release paperwork. When he left, I realized that I had no clothes here, other than the ones that I had had on when the attack happened. I refused to wear them.

"Here, Baby. Take my shirt. It is long enough that it should come all the way to your knees, and I have on a tee underneath it so I'm good there," Edward told me as I began to fret over what to wear.

"Thanks Edward. I just can't wear those clothes anymore. I want to burn them!" I told him gruffly.

He stripped his shirt off and handed it to me. I held it to my nose and inhaled his scent with a smile on my face. I pulled the hospital gown off and slid Edward's shirt on. I didn't have any underwear on, but his shirt was long enough that it came almost to my knees. It was long enough that I felt comfortable wearing it without them. Edward came over and buttoned the buttons down the front for me, and he rolled the sleeves up so that I was comfortable.

When he had finished, he pulled me to him for a rough hug. He held me to him tightly, not letting me go for a few minutes. We basked in the love we had for each other, and we were happy to be leaving the hospital.

Edward finally set me back from him and gathered all my things up. He put them in the bag the hospital had provided and tied it up. He informed me that we would have a burning party later. I walked up to him, in nothing but his shirt, and gave him a kiss in thanks.

He pulled on my hand and led me from the room. We walked down the hallway and I noticed everyone staring at me and I couldn't figure out why. That was, until I really looked at Edward. He looked fiercely handsome in his low slung black jeans and his black wife-beater. I was walking beside him in what was definitely his shirt. I noticed that all of the nurses were staring at him with lust in their eyes. I speeded up a little, just wanting to be done here.

We found our way to the E.R. Exit and Edward wanted to leave me there while he went and got the H3. I gently reminded him that I was standing here naked underneath his shirt and didn't feel comfortable being by myself right now. He looked over and nodded his agreement before leading me through the parking lot to the car.

He helped me up in his usual manner, and when he sat me on the seat, he stepped up close as he ran his hands along my thighs, up my sides and landed on my shoulder's. He leaned in and gave me one of the most gentle kisses I have ever experienced. I could feel the love pouring out of him and into me with that kiss.

He stepped back after a few moments and after making sure that I was buckled in he closed the door. When he climbed up in the car, he lit up a cigarette. I looked for mine, but I didn't know what had happened to them. He handed me his when he realized what I was looking for. As I pulled deeply on his Marlboro, I watched him pull another one out of his pack and light it up. I could feel myself get a little light headed from the cigarette. I wasn't use to anything but lights and to draw so deep from a regular one went straight to my head. I was so glad that I had more of mine at home.

Edward pulled into the driveway as we finished our smokes. It was now around four in the morning. I was tired and I knew that Edward had to be as well. We slowly made our way to the front door. We were greeted by Samson and Delilah at the door. I gave them both big hugs and told them how much I loved them.

After spending several minutes on the floor with them, Edward finally pulled me up so that we could go up to bed. They of course followed us closely and settled by my bed when we got to my room.

The only thing I had in mind at the moment was a shower. I headed straight into the bathroom and turned the water on. When it was running as hot as I thought I could handle it, I shed Edward's shirt and stepped in. I heard him moving around in my bedroom, but I was concentrating to hard on trying to scrub James's touch from my skin. I grabbed my body scrubber and wash and washed my skin until it was bright pink. I could still feel his hands on me. I wasn't sure at what point I had started to cry, but suddenly Edward was there with me.

He took the body pouf from me and put it away before he gathered me closely to him. "Baby, you have to stop scrubbing so hard. You're going to hurt yourself," he told me, whisper soft in my ear.

"Edward, please make it go away. I can still feel his hands on me. I don't want to feel him anymore! I feel like I let you down. I shouldn't have accepted the drink from him. I should have insisted that you come with us. I should have known better!" I sobbed into his chest, my arms wrapped around his waist.

"Bella! Stop right now! None of this was your fault! I love you, Baby. I always will. Don't you see? This mouth right here? It's mine!" he said as he lovingly kissed me.

When he said that it was his, when he reclaimed that part of me as his and only his, I felt such relief from that claiming. I could also feel how much he needed to reclaim me as his.

"Only yours!" I agreed with him as he trailed kisses down to my collar bones.

"These breasts, there mine too!" he said gruffly as he cupped them in his big hands.

I could only breath out a "yours" as he lowered his mouth to one nipple. He sucked it into his hot mouth and nibbled on the peak with his sharp teeth. After a moment, he moved over and claimed the other one too. He fell to his knees as he trailed kisses down my stomach to my womanhood.

He was growling out "Mine" in between kisses as he went. When he got to my mound, he looked up at me for a minute. We stared at each other in contemplation. Edward finally growled low in his chest before he leaned forward and slid his velvet tongue through my wet folds. Without moving his mouth, he gruffly said "MINE" while looking up my body.

I nodded at him while saying, "It's yours Baby. Only yours!" With every new claiming he did on my body, I felt the taint of James being washed away from my skin. I could feel the tears prickling behind my lids. I tried to keep them at bay, but a few managed to squeeze out anyway. Edward saw them, but knew that they were tears of relief as he reclaimed me. He continued to lave my folds with his magical tongue, bringing me close to the edge of my orgasm, but not letting me fall over. When I got close, he would back off a little until I calmed down. After doing this a couple of times, I couldn't take it anymore.

Reaching down, I wrapped my hands in his hair and tugged on it roughly. He obligingly stood up for me. I wrapped my arms around his neck as I hitched one leg over his hip. He took the hint and leaned over a little to reach his hands around me and lift me up to his waist. As he held me against that wall, I wanted nothing more than to feel him inside me. I tugged his head down so I could reach his mouth. I could taste myself on his lips and moaned when I remembered the pleasure he gave me. I slid my tongue into his warm mouth and tangled it with his own. Edward was kneading my ass in his hands as he rubbed his velvet covered steel length against my folds. I knew he wanted to just thrust inside roughly, but he was trying to get some control over himself before he did that. He thought that it would be too much for me.

Reaching down between us, I grabbed his length in my hand and pumped him a few times before placing him at my opening. I looked up into his eyes and whispered, "Yours!" That was all it took. He roughly slammed himself deep within me. He punctuated every thrust with "Mine!" I tightened myself around him and told him over and over again that I was his.

We went from words to thoughts from there on in. It required too much energy to say the words out loud, and we were expending it all on each other. Both of our thoughts were jumbled up with I love you's, Mine's, and Your's. When I was getting close to the edge again, I loosened my right hand from around Edward's neck and snaked it between our bodies. I quickly brushed against my clit in soft flicks. When Edward realized what I was doing, he leaned back a little to give me more room and room for him to watch as I played with myself as he thrust in and out of me.

"Baby, so close" I mumbled to him, lost in a pleasure induced haze.

He replaced my fingers with his and growled out, "Come now!" as he pinched my nub firmly between his fingers.

I fell apart in his arms, trusting him to be there to catch me. With a few more thrusts, I felt him harden even more inside me before I felt him stiffen against me. He chanted my name and his love for me in his thoughts as he came. We traced our hands over the others body, calming down. When we could breath normally again, he lowered me gently to my feet.

After I had gotten steady, I pushed Edward under the water to wet his hair. I washed his hair before washing his body. It was one way that I was claiming him for myself. I couldn't help the "mine's" that floated through my head as I traced over his massive chest and down his abs. When I got to his manhood I washed him thoroughly. Rinsing him off, I dropped to my knees and looked up at him.

"Mine!" I growled out, surprising myself and Edward with the intensity in my voice.

I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his tip. I watched in fascination as he began to grow before my eyes. I loved the fact that I could do this to him. I leaned in again and trailed my tongue from the base of him all the way to his tip, before engulfing him in my mouth. I took as much of him in as I could, and taking a deep breath, I began to swallow. I felt him sliding down my throat as I continued to swallow him down. I wanted all of him inside my mouth and wouldn't settle for anything less. Edward was panting above me as I squeezed his length in my throat. He grabbed a hand full of my hair and pulled me away from him. I let him slide out and took in several deep breaths.

"Baby, you don't have to do that!" he told me gruffly.

"I know, but I wanted to," I told him before reaching out to lick him again.

He moaned softly and pulled me to my feet. "Bella, lets move this to the bed, shall we? I don't think I'm going to be able to stand much longer, if you keep doing that!" he told me gruffly.

We got out and dried off before going back to bed. Edward lay me down and crawled up my body, placing kisses and nibbles as he went. When he reached my mouth, he settled down between my thighs. I wrapped both legs around his waist as he slid inside my walls once again. We rocked together as we climbed to our release again. When I fell over the edge into my release, he fell with me.

We lay there, still connected with the other. I didn't want him to leave my body just yet. He turned us on to our sides, facing each other, without leaving my body. I hitched my leg farther up his hip and used it to pull him closer to me. He wrapped me closer to him in his arms and when I had at last felt I couldn't get any closer to him, I rested my head against his chest. The rhythmical beating of his heart lulled me to sleep. I tried to resist, but my eyes felt as though they were weighted down and I couldn't get them to open up again. Edward whispered in my ear for me to go to sleep, that he had me and wouldn't let me go until I woke up. Feeling the love and safety of being wrapped in his arms, I allowed myself to drift off.

I awoke to kisses being planted all over my face. My eyes fluttered open to see Edward's face right in front of my own.

"Morning Baby!" he whispered to me.

I tightened my hold on him for a moment before loosening my grip. I whispered a good morning back to him before looking over to the clock. It was noon already. I couldn't believe I had slept that long. I was normally up at eight, no matter how late I had stayed up the night before. I stretched against his body and I could feel the soreness in my muscles from the night before. I was surprised about that. I hadn't realized I had done anything to be sore from. When the thoughts came flooding back from the night before, I tensed up. Edward ran his hands up and down my back, soothing me with his touch.

"Baby, you're OK! We are here together, and he can never hurt you again," he promised me.

"Edward, thanks for everything you did for me last night. I love you!" I told him as I peppered his chest with kisses.

I didn't worry about James anymore. I knew that he was in jail and I planned on pressing charges against him, too. I didn't want him to be able to do to someone else what he had done to me.

We finally got out of bed around one and got ready for the day. After eating a quick lunch with Gracie, since we had missed breakfast, we went out to see the dogs since Mom said that they were in the yard. I lit up a cigarette as they came walking over to us. Gracie was busy running between us and her swing set and playing with the dogs. Edward and I tossed a few sticks for them to chase and we walked around the yard for a while, just enjoying the peace of the day.

Edward and I discussed whether or not we would go home early. I convinced him that I wasn't going to let what happened ruin the rest of my trip. He finally agreed, since James was in jail and couldn't make bail. We spent the rest of that week with my parents, visiting with family, and going on day trips to visit some of the local attractions of South Texas. Before we knew it, it was Friday and we were packing up to go home. Our plane was leaving at two that afternoon. As much as I love my parents, I was more than ready to leave this town behind for a while. I was ready for home.


	18. Chapter 18

S. Meyer still owns it! I own this storyline. This chapter is pure loving fluff! I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. :)

Chapter 18

It was soon time to leave and I was giving hugs and kisses to my Mom and Dad. They each told me how much they loved Edward and looked forward to seeing him again. I promised them that I didn't plan on Edward going anywhere anytime soon. Dad helped Edward load our luggage into the H3. Gracie was sad to be leaving her grandparents, but happy to be going home to see the horses and her friends at school.

We had said our last goodbyes and was pulling out of the drive when I realized that this was the best trip home that I had had since I had moved away. Yeah, I had gotten attacked, but that was nothing compared to the rest of the week, with Edward, getting to visit my family. Edward smiled over at me in agreement. He had had a good time this week, too.

We were soon at the Edwards County Airport and unloading our bags. I had showed Edward where to park the H3 so that my parents could come later and get it. Edward carried our bags while I walked the dogs over on their leashes with Gracie walking along between us. We quickly boarded the plane and got settled for the flight home. I was ready to go, to be honest. Visiting was great, but I missed Luna and River. I missed my house and I missed being able to snuggle up in bed with Edward on his days off, not having to worry about someone coming in or bothering us.

We were back at the airport in Telluride in a couple of hours. We had watched the Jeff Dunham Spark of Insanity DVD and laughed our asses off. It was great to de-stress from traveling that way. Gracie was busy with Finding Nemo on her portable DVD player and was curled up next to Delilah while she watched it.

I was so glad to be close to home. Grabbing our luggage, Edward, Gracie, and I made our way back through the airport. The return trip through the airport was quicker as we remembered the way and the attendant was quicker in leading us out. After finding the car we were soon on the way home.

Edward drove us to my house. Since it was already getting on in the evening, we decided to stop and grab something to eat before going home. I called in an order at the diner and we soon had some burgers and fries to take with us. We had called Em and Jazz to see if they wanted to come over but not surprisingly they were out with Rose and Alice. In a way I was glad of that, just because Edward, Gracie and I hadn't spent a lot of time together, just us, this past week. Pulling into my long drive, we talked about our camping trip a little. To say that Gracie was excited was an understatement! We wanted to go before it got too cold, and we decided to wait until the end of the month before going. He would only be out of the shop for a Saturday night this time and with it being three weeks away it gave us time to rearrange any appointments or re-assign them to Em or Jazz.

I grabbed the food and Gracie while Edward got the luggage and led the way into the house. Samson and Delilah were delighted to be at home. They took off first thing for the barn to visit with Luna and River. I was glad that the horses were in the paddock, so I could see them. I knew that would go check them out after we ate supper.

I led Edward and Gracie down the pathway to the barn after our quick supper. When we got near, the horses started to nicker their greetings to us. I had really missed them while we were gone. River came straight to Edward and nudged his shoulder for attention. I was really happy that they were forming a bond. I watched as man and horse interacted. The slight breeze was blowing both of their manes around in the breeze. I smiled to myself as I pictured Edward in a loincloth, going native american on me. He looked over at me with an arched brow when he caught me in my fantasy. I just shrugged my shoulder's at him and turned back to Luna. I caught his thoughts of me doing a Lady Godiva and I turned to stare at him in wonder. All he did was return my shrug before becoming immersed in River again.

We led them back to the barn, Gracing perched atop Luna, and got them settled in for the night, before we went back to the house. I led him out to the back deck and we sat in the loveseat and smoked a few cigarettes while Gracie played with her toys on the deck before going inside to unpack our bags. I took our dirty clothes and threw them in the washing machine and went to the living room to find Gracie and him stretched out on my couch with the TV on. It was time for Gracie to go to bed, so she of course pouted. I watched him as he pulled her onto his lap for a pep talk before she finally settled down. She wanted him to come tuck her in after she got ready for bed and he told her that he would be in when she was ready.

I led her down the hallway towards her room. Walking over to her chest, I pulled out her Dora the Explorer pajamas and told her to go potty before I changed her. She was quick to take care of her nightly routine and came back into the room to get her pajamas on. I had stripped off her clothes and had almost completed getting her re-dressed in her pajamas when she looked up at me with a serious expression in her big green eyes.

"Mommy, can Edward be my Daddy?" she asked me with her bottom lip quivering and her eyes wide.

"Well, Gracie. That's hard for me to answer. We would have to talk to Edward about that," I told her, heartbroken. I knew that Edward wouldn't have any problem with becoming her daddy, but the thought that her own father was such a royal screw up just pissed me off.

I made sure that Edward could hear our conversation so that he would be prepared when he came in to tuck her in bed. He let me know that he already thought of her as his own, and that he was very proud that she wanted to call him Daddy.

"Gracie, I tell you what sweetie. Why don't you ask Edward when he comes to tuck you in? I bet he would love to be your Daddy!" I told her, trying to keep smile off of my face.

"Edward!" she suddenly yelled out, startling me.

Edward came walking into her bedroom to find us sitting on her bed. He joined us there and Gracie crawled into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked up at him and then placed her little hands on each side of his face while looking deeply into his eyes.

"Edward, will you be my daddy? I really want a daddy and I want you to be him!" she told him sweetly.

"Well, Miss Gracie, I would love to be your Daddy, but only if it's OK with your Mommy. Did you ask your Mommy if it was OK for me to be your daddy?" he asked her with amusement.

Gracie turned to look at me quizzically. She hadn't thought to ask me if it was OK with me for him to be her daddy. "Mommy, is it OK if Edward is my daddy?" she asked me sweetly.

"Sweetie, if Edward is OK with being your daddy, then it's OK with me!" I told her before I smiled up at Edward.

Gracie turned back to look at Edward then. "Will you be my daddy?" she asked him simply.

I looked at him and could see the sheen of moisture in his eyes at how touched he was by her simple words. "Yes, Gracie, I will be your daddy," he told her quietly before he hugged her to him.

Gracie was satisfied with his answer and gave him a kiss on his cheek before hugging his neck and then laying down. He tucked her into the bed, pulling the covers up and snugging them around her the way she likes. After that, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before telling her goodnight and going back into the living room. Once I got Gracie's book read to her and got her situated, I went back to join him.

I found him stretched out on the couch watching TV. He was watching a tattoo show on the Discovery channel and making comments to himself about what the artists were doing. He slid back into the couch and turned on his side before he motioned me to lay in front of him. I gingerly sat down and stretched out. I felt like I was going to fall off at any moment, until he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me back firmly into his chest. I rested my head on his arm and he rested his head on top of mine for a bit before whispering he loved me in my ear.

"I love you, too Edward," I told him as I turned my face up to see him.

He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my lips before he tucked my head back under his chin. He kept sending me thoughts about how great he felt that Gracie cared about him enough to want to call him Daddy. I looked over my shoulder at him and kissed him gently on his chin.

"Baby, she loves you. I hope that you're OK with all of this. If you aren't ready for her to call you that, just let me know and I'll talk to her. I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything that you don't want to," I told him in a whisper.

"Baby, I'm beyond thrilled that Gracie loves me enough to call me Daddy. I'm also proud to claim her as my little girl. I've thought of her as mine for a long time now, so this is just icing on the cake. Are you sure that you're ready for her to call me daddy? I don't want to do anything to upset you either," he told me somberly.

I turned myself over to face him as we were lying there. He wrapped his arms back around me and I wrapped my arm around his waist. Looking up into his eyes I sent all of the thoughts that I had about him being Gracie's dad to him. How I loved that she felt that comfortable with him, and I had actually been kinda looking forward to the day it happened. I could never see myself with anyone else in my life and I knew that I would never love anyone else like I loved this man.

Once I was done, he squeezed me to his chest while placing soft kisses all over my face. There were no words to describe how he felt to be chosen to be a father. I whispered into his ear that I understood his lack of words, because I didn't have many of my own at the moment.

After a few minutes like this I turned back around to finish watching TV with him. We watched the rest of the show in companionable silence. The last thing I remembered was seeing a guy who wanted a tattoo of a cross on his ribs.

I woke slightly as I felt myself being moved. I struggled to lift my eyes and Edward placed a kiss on my brow before telling me to shush and that he was taking me to bed. I trusted him completely and closed my eyes to once again be enveloped in the soft darkness of my slumber. When he got me to the bed, I felt him removing all my clothes before he disappeared for a minute. When he returned, I could feel his bare skin against my own as he slid into the bed beside me. I turned into his arms, kissed his chest, and mumbled a good night before going back to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

I awoke the next morning to sunlight streaming through the blinds into my room. I was wrapped around Edward's body as if I were a cling-on. He had his back to me and I was pressed up against him, with my leg thrown over one of his. I saw when I looked at the clock that it was about time for Gracie to get up and I would need to go feed the horses soon. I closed my eyes for a few more moments before I reluctantly pulled away from him. I eased out of the bed and went to the closet to grab my clothes for the day. After I got dressed, I went to check up on Gracie and found her starting to wake up.

"Good Morning Gracie. Did you sleep well?" I asked her as I sat down on the bed with her.

"Morning Mommy. Is Daddy here?" she asked me while rubbing her eyes.

I felt my heart swell when she called Edward Daddy. I mean, I know that she had asked last night if he could be her daddy, but she hadn't said anything about calling him daddy yet.

"Yeah Sweetie, he is. He's still asleep though," I told her.

"OK," she said before suddenly jumping out of bed and running out the door.

"I gotta go potty!" she yelled on her way down the hall.

I started laughing when I heard that from her. Kids amaze me all the time, how they can go from one thing to a completely different thing in a matter of seconds. I stood up from the bed and made my way to the kitchen, still chuckling to myself, to see what I had to make for breakfast. Looking through the cabinets, I decided to make some pancakes and pulled out the ingredients to get started.

Gracie came stumbling into the kitchen with Samson and Delilah at her heels.

"Mommy, can I let 'em out?" she asked me.

"Sure Sweetie," I told her as I squatted down to look underneath the cabinet to find a bowl to mix the pancakes in.

"What 'cha doin'?" she asked me as she came over to look underneath the cabinet with me. She was so adorable squatted down beside me with her elbows on her knees and her chin resting on her hands as she looked.

"Lookin' for a bowl. Do you wanna help me make some pancakes? We can surprise your Daddy. Do ya think he'll like that?" I asked her as I found the big red bowl I was looking for.

"Yay! Pancakes!" she squealed in delight. "Can we make Mickey ones? They're my favoritest!" She said excitedly.

"Yeah, we can make Mickey ones. Go wash your hands," I told her with a smile.

After Gracie was cleaned up, she rushed back into the kitchen to help me. She was very happy to be able to stir the batter for the pancakes. She helped me pour the three circles needed to form Mickey's head and stared hard at it while it cooked. When she saw the bubbles start to come to the top of the batter she started hopping in her chair, wanting to help me flip them over. I had to remind her that it would be a very bad thing if she fell off of her chair before breakfast before she would settle down.

Once we had a nice stack of pancakes ready, we piled a tray up with them, maple syrup, coffee, and milk for Edward before we took it all to him. Gracie led the way down the hallway to my bedroom and quietly opened the door. Once I had made it inside, she took off running towards the bed and dove on top of Edward. I heard him let out an UMPH! As she landed right square in the middle of his back.

"Daddy! Time to get up! We made you pancakes!" she said excitedly in his ear as she squirmed around.

"Mmm, pancakes are my favorite, right up there next to a big bite of Lexi Grace!" he said before carefully and quickly turning over in the bed to tickle her and pretend to take bites out of her neck and stomach. It was music to my ears to hear them laughing and to see them playing together. After a few minutes, they had finally settled down, propped up against the headboard.

I carefully settled the tray onto Edward's lap before sitting on the side of the bed to watch them eat. Edward shared his pancakes with Gracie and carefully cut them up into bite-sized pieces for her. I couldn't help the contented smile that was on my face as I watched the two people that I loved most in the world.

"Gracie, these pancakes were really great! Thank you for making 'em for me," Edward said to her after taking one last bite.

"Your welcome Daddy," Gracie said as she bounced lightly on the bed.

"Well guys, it's time for me to go feed Luna and River," I said as I stood up from the bed.

"I wanna help, Mommy!" Gracie told me as she bounded up from the bed.

"Give me a minute, Baby, and I'll come help you too," Edward thought to me.

"Ok, I'll tell you what. I'll get Gracie dressed and then we can all go feed the horses together," I said.

Everyone got dressed and ready for the day and we all walked out to the horse barn. Luna and River were really happy to see us. Edward had Gracie perched upon his shoulder's as we went about feeding and watering the horses. Edward had decided to wait until Monday to go back to work, so we decided to have a movie night that night.

Later that evening, after we worked together to make sloppy joe's for supper, we settled onto the couch in our pajamas to watch movies. Gracie was so excited to watch Happy Feet but fell asleep halfway through it. Edward carefully gathered her up in his arms and carried her to bed. When he came back we watched the movie Wanted before we went to bed.

The rest of September passed by quickly. Em and Jazz had decided to stay on at the shop. I knew it had a lot to do with them falling for Rose and Alice. We spent many evenings together at the shop while the guys worked. Business was going really great and we were like one big happy family. I'll never forget the first time Gracie called Edward daddy in front of the guys. They had a shocked look on their faces and were speechless. Edward just gave them a raised eyebrow look and they both shrugged at him. I thought it was so funny that they seemed to have a whole conversation about it without saying a word. That was the only time there seemed to be any questions about it. After that they accepted it and they became Uncle Jazz and Uncle Em.

Gracie became more comfortable calling Edward Daddy and before long everyone in town had accepted the fact. The first few times she had called him Daddy in public we had gotten turned heads, but soon the townspeople had gotten used to hearing it.

Before we knew it, it was time for our camping trip. We went to an outdoor sporting store to stock up on our supplies. Gracie had a blast picking out her sleeping bag. She was in heaven when she found a Disney princesses one. Edward and I selected our tent, making sure that there was plenty of room for us and the dogs. After loading the tent into the buggy, we went over to the camping supplies and picked out a propane camping stove, a cooler, and other supplies.

We then went to the Wal-Mart in town and loaded up on food, water, and drinks. Gracie wanted to make sure that we had some treats for Samson and Delilah so we went to the pet section and got those. I made sure to pick up a first aid kit before we left. You never know what might happen out there and I would rather be prepared for anything that might happen.

Saturday morning, we all got up, excited about going camping later that day. Gracie was bouncing off the walls she was so hyped up about it. We packed all of our supplies into the truck before I had Edward back the truck up to the horse trailer and connecting it to the truck. Once he pulled it around to the front of the barn we led Luna and River outside and loaded them in the trailer. I double checked to make sure that we had everything before I took Gracie in to use the restroom one last time before we headed out.

Samson and Delilah could tell that something special was going on and they were acting accordingly. We laughed at their antics as they raced around the front yard. Edward called them over to the truck while I buckled Gracie into her car seat. After we had them in the truck we looked at each other and grinned.

"Lexi Grace, are you ready to go camping?" Edward asked her with a smile.

"Yeppers Daddy! Let's go!" she said with a squeal. "Momma, can I pick flowers? Can we go fishing? Are we gonna see some animals? Are we gonna sleep in the tent?"

"Gracie, calm down sweetie! Yes to all of those. Hopefully you will get to see some cool things, OK?" I asked her. "Why don't you look at your book for a while?"

"OK Momma," she said while pulling her book over into her lap.

After driving for about an hour we reached the campground. Edward carefully drove up the gravel road and we found the office. I hopped out of the truck to go inside to check us in. After receiving directions to our campsite and paying our camping fee I went back to the truck. I directed Edward to the right area and we quickly got our camp set up.

Edward was hilarious trying to get the tent set up. It kept falling on him. I finally took pity on him and showed him how to do it. Men, what do they think directions are for? I thought to myself.

Edward looked over at me quickly when he caught that thought. He just arched that brow of his at me before very politely sticking his tongue out at me. I couldn't help the laughter that spilled from my lips at the action. He was so cute when he was acting silly like that.

While Edward finished setting up the tent and getting our things out of the truck I set up a couple of picket lines for the horses. I backed Luna out first and after getting her hooked up to the line, I went and got River. Once I had them settled in, I went back to the tent to find that Edward had gotten our sleeping bags out and situated in the tent, along with setting up the camp stove and setting the cooler out. We had brought Samson and Delilah's beds with us also and he had put them on one side of the tent.

We were going to go for a trail ride before we fixed our supper, so we tacked up the horses. I made sure that I had water and some granola bars in my saddle bags along with a first aid kit. Gracie wanted to ride with Edward so he held her in front of him on River.

I looked around and picked out a trail that looked easy to travel so that it wouldn't tire out the dogs. We rode along in mother nature's splendor. The plant life was so beautiful. We traipsed along the trail, talking quietly with each other while we admired the flora around us. There were flowers of all colors that spread out like a softly waving blanket of bright color. I pulled my camera out of my saddlebag and snapped several candid pictures of the view and of Edward holding Gracie. I also took several pictures of Samson and Delilah as they played in the flowers.

The trail we were on began a gradual accent towards the verdant peaks in the distance. I was hoping for some beautiful views from up here. Once we reached a level area of the trail, we halted the horses and climbed down to rest ourselves. Gracie was hopping around picking some of the wild flowers that were growing nearby as Edward and I saw to the horses.

The vistas before us were magical in their beauty. I fell in love more and more each time I saw the amazing views of my home. Edward walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. We stood in awe of the magnificence before us. All too soon, Gracie called us to come and see the flowers that she had collected. We oooed and awed at all of the appropriate times. I carefully settled the flowers in the top of my saddlebag to take back to camp with us before we got the horses ready for the return trip to camp.

We had been riding for about an hour when Samson and Delilah started barking and looking over to the side of the trail. I looked hard to see what had gotten them upset and when I got to a break in the trees I saw a black bear looking at us. I could feel my heart starting to pound from the adrenaline rush. I was scared that the bear would end up spooking the horses or that the dogs would try to charge at the bear.

"Samson! Delilah! Come!" I called a bit frantically. I was so thankful that they listened so well to me. Edward and I sped the horses down the trail to get further from the bear. I couldn't help but to look over my shoulder to check to make sure it wasn't there. Thankfully, I think that we scared him about as much as he scared us.

When I caught up to Edward and Gracie, she was so excited about seeing the bear that she was chattering non stop about him. When she started talking about taking it home with us I had to call a stop to it. She looked over and pouted at me but I just shook my head no at her. She finally huffed and crossed her little arms across her chest and poked her bottom lip out at me. Edward explained that we couldn't take wild animals home with us and that bears could be very dangerous. I was very proud of how he handled himself and shared a smile with him when Gracie finally relented.

When we got back to camp Edward helped me to unsaddle the horses and brush them down before we got the things we needed for supper ready. We made the traditional campfire fare. Roasted weenies and smores. Gracie was so funny when she watched the marshmallow squeeze out from between the graham crackers. She scrunched up her nose in disgust when it oozed out. Once we convinced her to actually try one, she was in heaven. One was all she needed to start bouncing around the campground. I had to pull her into my lap when she almost bounced right into the fire.

Once Gracie's sugar high had worn off I took her out to the edge of the woods to go pee. The look on her little face when she realized that she was to squat and pee on the ground was priceless! It took several minutes before she would relent and actually use the bathroom there. When we finished up she went into the tent and we got her pajamas ready. I turned the lantern down low and lay beside her while she started to drift off to sleep. I thought she was just about out when she yelled out very loudly and scared me.

"Daddy! Daddy!" she squealed out loudly.

Edward came rushing into the tent to see what was wrong. "What is it Gracie, are you OK?" he asked her.

"Silly Daddy, I just wanted to tell you good night and give you hugs 'n' kisses," she told him while reaching up to him with her arms spread.

"Gracie, sweetie, please don't yell like that. I thought that you or your mom was hurt. Can you do that for me honey?" he asked her while walking over to hunker down by her side.

"OK Daddy, sorry," she told him shyly while starting to lower her arms.

"It's OK this time sweetie, now come here and give me some love," he told her as he scooped her up into a hug. After she had given him a big hug and kissed all over his face she finally relinquished her hold on him and lay back down. We lay down on each side of her and waited for her to fall asleep before going back out to the fire.

"Baby, I have to tell you, when she yelled out like that I thought for sure I was going to find some kind of wild animal in that tent with you guys! I thought that my heart was going to come right out of my chest as I rushed in there!" Edward said as we sat down.

"Yeah, well, I was laying there beside the little munchkin and I tell ya, if we had been on a bed my ass would have been on the floor!" I told him while laughing so hard I had tears leaking from my eyes.

"Did I tell you how much I love her? I'd never thought about ever having kids before, ya know?" He said as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Baby, I know how much you love her. I can see it every time we talk about her or when you are just sitting there holding her. It makes me so happy that you guys love each other so much. I had always figured that she would end up growing up without a dad, and now she has you!" I told him before pulling him close so that I could wrap my arms around him.

"It makes me feel good, when she calls me daddy and when she comes running up to me so excited to show me something or tell me something. Thank you for sharing your beautiful little girl with me Bella. She truly is a precious gift that I will never take for granted. I want her to always know just how much I love her." He said into my ear as he pulled me closer to him.

I just hummed in contentment. I knew that Edward is the best Dad that my baby girl could ever have and that thought made me so very happy.

We sat by the fire and watched as the flames burned down before we decided that we should probably head to bed. We lay in our sleeping bag, discussing the day and Edward brought up a visit to his parents. We decided to talk to Em and Jazz and see how they felt about another weekend working alone so that we could fly out to visit.

After we had made our plans we finally succumbed to our slumber, content on where we were and the love we felt for our family.


	20. Chapter 20

S. Meyer owns it all. I own the storyline and a caramel frappe' from McD's!

So, this is where I start writing again. The previous chapters were already written and I had to just edit a little before posting. Now I'm writing as I go. Thanks for all of the awesome reviews and for everything else. Lemon on the bottom. :D

Chapter 20

We awoke the next morning to the cool feeling of fall in the air. I snuggled up closer to Edward before feeling the need to heed nature's call. Gracie was buried in her sleeping bag with Sampson on one side of her and Delilah on the other. Well, I don't have to worry about her getting cold or anything messing with her thats for sure, I thought to myself as I walked by. After taking care of my business in the woods (eww, might I add!) I went back to our camp to find that Gracie and Edward were both still asleep. I went back out and poked at the fire to get it started going again before I cooked some eggs and bacon for our breakfast. When it was about done, I went in to wake them up. First I went to Edward and after a few kisses and nudges he roused him self enough to get up. I then went over to Gracie and had to wedge my way between her and the dogs to get to her. Once I had finally succeeded in getting there, I brushed the blonde curls from her face and shook her gently before I started tickling her sides. She buried her head into the pillow and groaned at me, I mean actually groaned! My three year old is groaning at me because I woke her up. I couldn't help but laugh at the silly goose. I finally just picked her up and brought her outside.

She started wiggling around when she had the sudden urge to use the bathroom and thankfully she went much faster than the night before. After she was finished, we went back to the camp to eat our breakfast. I laughed at her and Edward and they both sat together with sleepy grumpy looks on their faces. I guess I'm the only early riser of our bunch. It took them a good twenty minutes to wake up enough to eat breakfast. Once their belly's were full, they finally seemed aware enough to start packing up our tent and things.

I was busy folding up sleeping bags and putting them in the truck when I heard Gracie screaming. I thought my heart was about to pound right out of my chest as I went running over to the tent. I made it there just behind Edward and we both raced inside to find Gracie sitting stone still staring at the corner of the tent.

"Gracie, what is it? What's wrong? Are you OK?" Edward frantically asked her as he scooped her up in his arms and held her suddenly crying body against his chest.

"S . . . sp. . spider!" she stuttered out between sobs. "It was big and hairy and he looked at me, Daddy!"

"Oh, Gracie girl, I'm so sorry that he scared you sweetie. You want me to find him and get rid of him for you?" he asked as he soothed her, his hand running up and down her back.

"Please, Daddy. I don't like him. He looked at me!" she whimpered into his neck.

"Here sweetie, go to Mommy and I will find him and get rid of him, OK?" he said to her.

Gracie just nodded her head before she turned and held her arms out to me. I reached over and pulled her to me and Edward went over to the corner to find this "big hairy spider" that he though that she had just imagined.

Edward was moving around the sleeping bags when he suddenly let out a "Fuck ME!" before he quickly looked over at Gracie and told her he was sorry with wide eyes.

I started to move over to see what had made him use that kind of language in front of her when he motioned me to get back.

"Baby can you find me a jar, can, something to get this with?" he said before thinking to me "This damn thing is huge. I see why she screamed like she did. Hell, I wanted to scream myself!" before he started to laugh at the thought of him screaming like a little girl.

I nodded my head at him before I went back out to see if I could find something for him to use. Luckily I found a drink bottle that had a wide mouth on it in the truck and took that in to him. After I tossed it over, I took Gracie back outside and started loading the truck again. After a minute or so and several of Edward's profane thoughts he finally came out holding the bottle. When he showed me the spider in there I couldn't help the shiver that went thorough my body. It was big, brown, and definitely hairy. After telling him to keep that thing away from me, we finished breaking camp and got ourselves in the truck.

I was really glad to be home. I had missed my bed in a very bad way. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed our time together, but bears and spiders quickly entered my mind and made me shudder again. I shrugged it off as we unloaded the truck and put everything away. I realized that Edward had been living with us for over a month now and I never wanted him to leave. We got along so well and we all just clicked.

That night Edward and I talked more about visiting his parents and he told me that he had talked to Em and Jazz and they told him that it was fine to take yet another weekend off. We decided to go around Halloween and take Gracie Trick-or-Treating while we were there. Edward called his mom and talked to her to let her know, and I could hear her squealing on the phone from across the room. She was very excited about us coming and promised to have everything ready for us when we got there.

We were so tired that night that after we got Gracie in bed, we both were out like a light. Edward was working by himself tomorrow since there were only a couple of appointments and he gave the guys the day off.

Monday morning came bright and early and we were woken up by Gracie jumping onto the bed. She was so excited about going back to school to tell all of her friends about the bear we saw and the spider. Edward told me that he would take Gracie to school on his way to the shop because he had some designs to look over and some paperwork to do before he opened up later. After we had breakfast, I kissed him and Gracie good bye before they left and watched as they drove out of sight.

As I was mucking out the horses stalls I decided that I was going to surprise Edward with lunch before he opened up the shop and hurried through my chores. I remembered how much he had liked the Chicken Alfredo so I decided to make that for him. I hadn't made it for him since that first time and knew that it was be easy to do. I went to the house and showered quickly before starting lunch. It was already 10:45 and I knew that I would have enough time to get it done and there by 12 at the latest.

I dressed carefully in a sundress that I knew he would like. It was deep purple and had a short sleeved lighter purple jacket that went over it. I pulled my sandals on before loading the food and Delilah into the truck. Edward had taken Samson with him this morning when he had left.

When I pulled up to the shop, I was happy to see that his was the only vehicle in the lot. I used my key to let myself and Delilah in the door. I made sure to lock it behind me before I went down the hall to his office. I found him sitting at his desk, papers spread across it as he ran his fingers through his hair. By the look of it he had done that several times already today. He was so deep into ordering his supplies that he didn't even hear me or my thoughts. I cleared my throat quietly, hoping to catch his attention but he was oblivious to me. So, I decided to play dirty and pulled the cover off of the Chicken Alfredo and waved it towards him. I had to try so hard not to laugh as I saw his nose start to twitch. Finally, he looked up and when he saw me he gave me a great big smile and a moan of appreciation as his stomach growled loudly.

"Hungry Baby?" I asked him as I made my way over to his desk. I wasn't sure where to sit it though, because of all of the papers that were there. "Where do ya want this?" I asked him as I stood there.

"Hang on a sec, let me just move this stuff. Baby, that smells so good! I didn't realize I was even hungry until I smelled it." He told me as he started to stack the papers into neat stacks and then moving them over to his drafting table stool.

I put the food on the table and then dished out a plate for him and for myself before I looked for somewhere to sit. We still hadn't gotten another seat for in here. I dunno why either. It was just something we had put off I guess.

Edward took his seat and pulled me down on his lap before he buried his nose into the hair at my neck. "You look beautiful today, Baby," he breathed out quietly.

"Thanks, I just wanted to look nice for you today," I told him back, just as quietly as he had spoken.

"You always look nice to me Bella. I love whatever you wear . . . or not wear," he said with a smirk lighting up his face.

"Hmpf" I snorted at him before kissing his full lips. I couldn't help but nibble a bit on his bottom lip before I pulled away and handed him his plate.

Edward pouted playfully at me for that before he dug into his plate, all the while humming in contentment. After he had eaten his fill, he turned me towards him again and nuzzled up against my chest. I had a sense of deja vu for a moment as I remembered the last time we had sat like this and what we had to stop doing that time. This time I wanted more! I turned toward him as I reached up to yank the side of my dress and bra down, guiding his hot mouth there. I was never so thankful that a chair didn't have arms as I was right now, as I moved to straddle his hips. I was facing him fully and decided that my dress was in the way. I pulled it over my head before dropping it behind me. Edward reached around me, unclasping my bra before he pulled it off of my body and dropping it somewhere. I could feel his arousal pressing into the heat of my sex. I was so wet for him that I could feel it sliding out of my body and into my panties.

Reaching between us, I palmed his covered dick before reaching up and unsnapping the button and pushing the zipper down. Sliding my hand inside, I groaned as I realized that he was going commando. I wrapped it around his great size and pulled him out of his pants. Stoking him up and down, I slid down to my knees before taking him into my mouth. I nibbled lightly on his shaft. I surprised him as I raised back up and slid my panties off of one leg before tugging on his jeans. He raised his ass to help out, and I got them to his knees before deciding that it was far enough. I quickly straddled him before lowering myself onto his massive length. We both moaned from the pleasure coursing through us at the intimate contact. I was flush against him, having taken all of him inside my wet heat. I felt as though I would burst from being so full of him. Rocking slowly, I moved in a small circle while panting lightly. He took pity on me and used his hands on my ass to raise me up and down. The strength he had in his arms astounded me as he lifted me easily. I bit my lip, trying to hold in the noises I was making, not really succeeding. They just became low whimpers.

We were moving together quickly when Edward suddenly stood up, holding me to his body. He pushed the dishes of food out of the way before dropping me down on his desk. He lay me back and grabbed my legs, holding them up to his shoulders as he started pounding away at me. I could feel my stomach tightening, wanting to have my release. I reached down between our bodies and started playing with my clit. Rubbing circles and tugging on it softly at first, but soon it was more roughly.

I reached my other hand up and gently pinched his nipple between my fingers and he hissed before pulling back and slamming into me.

"Damn Baby! Come for me!" he commanded me gruffly.

I knew that he was getting close, the way his thrusts were starting to get more erratic as he tried to hold back until I came. I reached up with both hand and grabbed at the barbells in his nipples, twisting them slightly and growled at him.

"Come with me now!" I gasped as he tilted his hips up slightly and started ramming into my g-spot every time. I felt my self clenching down on his length as he started to spasm inside my walls. Feeling him come, hitting the back of my walls and coating it in his essence was enough to send me straight into my orgasm. I vaguely heard someone chanting Edward's name and realized it was me. His name was like a mantra to get me through the mind blowing feelings that he caused me.

I slowly dropped my feet off of his shoulders as he collapsed on top of me. I could feel him softening inside of me even though he was still holding me to the desk with his weight, buried deep inside my honeyed depths. Finally mustering up enough strength, he raised himself up to rest on his elbows and looked at me.

I smiled demurely up at him and wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him in for a slow passing of lips against the other. I slid my tongue in his hot mouth and I could taste his own unique flavor along with the food that we had just eaten. We lay there for a few minutes before Edward moved to get up. I really didn't want him to move though, so I wrapped my legs around his hips and pulled his body back into my own. I felt his manhood start to harden once again and I couldn't help but grind against him slowly, making him fill me up once again. He mumbled something against my neck as he started to suck on the skin under my ear. I really didn't care what he was mumbling about, as long as he started stroking my inner walls again.

I felt the smooth barbell in his cock rolling up and down my walls and clamped him to me, my heels dug into his firm ass. I wanted him to take me so hard that I wouldn't be able to walk straight. He heard that thought and pulled me down the desk so that my ass was hanging over the edge and he once again found my g-spot with the head of his hard length. I started whimpering from the intense feeling that was building up in my belly. He had my nipple between his teeth as he took turns licking and biting down on it. His hands were wrapped around my hips, using them to pull me forcefully against him as we met with every thrust. I wrapped my hands around his biceps, feeling the muscles there flexing with every movement.

This time we were more rushed as we both realized that his first appointment was due to arrive in the next twenty minutes. I was almost there and so was he. I pushed him away from me and spun quickly to lean over his desk, face down while pointing my ass at him. I heard him groan loudly before palming my ass roughly. I thought he was going to slide inside me again, but he had other ideas as I felt him spreading my ass cheeks. Startled I looked over my shoulder to see him knelt down behind me. I watched his head get closer to me before I felt his electric tongue on my clit. I hissed in pleasure from the feeling of it lapping at my wetness. I planted my hands firmly on the desk and started pushing myself back against his face lightly. His tongue was traveling firmly between my folds before dipping inside my wet opening. He wrapped his hands around my thighs for a moment, pulling them further apart before I felt his palms caressing my ass.

Leaning back, I felt his long fingers inside my body before he spread the slick wetness up to the small pucker of my ass. He rubbed his finger over it with gentle pressure while he resumed licking my lady bits. The combination of his fingertip sliding inside my ass as he tongued my clit and hooked his fingers from his other hand into the soft spongy walls of my g-spot sent me careening over the cliff into my orgasm. I felt my walls clenching against his fingers and as I wished it was his hard shaft instead. Immediately he stood up and rammed his cock inside me again. Finding my g-spot once again with the head and barbell, he just ground against me, massaging that spot as he came. I felt my whole body jerk every time he sent another spurt of his very essence against that super sensitive spot.

This time when he calmed down, he pulled completely away from me, sliding his jeans back up before collapsing in his chair. I, honestly, could not move. I just lay there against his desk, my face resting against the coolness of it, my bottom bared for all to see and I couldn't have cared less. I was blissed out and happy from the workout his body had just given mine.

He finally sat up and fastened his jeans. "Bella, Baby. I have to go. My appointment will be here in about five minutes and I have to clean up first," he told me gruffly. I guess my lady bits staring him in the face was too much, because he quickly dipped his fingers inside me once again, making me moan. He flicked his finger over my clit before stepping back and licking his fingers clean. "Baby, you're gonna kill me! Please put on your clothes. I can't go out there, knowing that you're spread out in here, waiting for me to sink balls deep into you again. I just can't do it!" he almost begged me.

"Sorry," I slurred out. I seriously couldn't get my mouth to work right now. I tried to move, but apparently my legs weren't working at the moment. Edward saw my struggles and took pity on my mind blown state and leaned over to help me step back into my panties. Before pulling them up he told me to wait a minute and he quickly ran into the bathroom with a washcloth to wet it. He came back and washed me up a little. I couldn't even find it in me to feel embarrassed. I felt way too good at that moment.

Bracing against the desk, I stood there while he slid my panties up. He grabbed my bra and dress, handing them to me while asking if I was able to put them on myself. I just nodded in reply and proceeded to slowly put them on while he went to get cleaned up. I had just gotten presentable when I heard the door of the shop open and someone walk in.

I was so glad that we hadn't gotten caught and I felt my face burn in a blush as I considered the fact that we almost were. I still couldn't help the silly smile on my face as I slowly walked out to the front of the shop and sat on the stool behind the counter. I watched Edward for a bit before I got down to work, booking appointments and such.


	21. Chapter 21

The great Mrs. Meyers is the owner of all things Twilight. I am the owner of my storyline. This is a short chapter to deal with a request and to answer a question that had been asked of me. It's something that I hadn't realized that I had left out, so thanks for pointing it out to me! I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 21

It was a cool Thursday afternoon when I went to the shop. Edward had picked up Gracie from school today because she wasn't feeling well. I would have gotten her myself but I had had a meeting with my accountant and wasn't in town. Edward was calm as could be when I called him frantically. He told me to finish up my meeting and to not worry, he would go pick her up and bring her to the shop until I could get home.

I was still anxious when I pulled into the parking lot. I hated when Gracie was sick, it just made me feel so helpless that I couldn't make her better. I walked quickly to the door and when I peeked in my mouth dropped open from amazement. There sat Edward, Em, Jazz and Gracie around Gracie's little table. Edward and Em had little feather boas around their necks and Jazz had on a little princess crown. It was freaking hilarious. It looked like their knees were about to hit their chins from the little chairs they were sitting in.

Gracie held a little tea cup in her hands and pretended to sip at her tea or whatever and she was commanding the guys on how they should be acting. I lost it when I saw Em pick up his tea cup by his thumb and pointer finger, his pinky held out perfectly as he pretended to sip at it. Jazz was very disgruntled looking as he rolled his eyes at Em, but when Gracie looked over at him with her little eyebrows raised he just grunted and picked up the cup. I had to wrap my arm around my waist while covering my mouth with my other hand to keep from letting out the laughter that was threatening to burst out.

Edward was taking it all in stride, and looked downright comfortable as he sat there and chatted with Gracie, his fluffy pink boa fluttering around him. I felt my heart swelling with even more love and finally I had to go in to my family. I made sure to sneak up on Em and Jazz, as Edward knew that I was there already.

I leaned over Em's shoulder and shouted "BOO" at him. I couldn't stop the laughter and tears as he jumped about a foot into the air and squealed like a little girl. We all started laughing at him and I had to lean on Edward's shoulder to keep myself upright.

When we finally calmed down, I went over to Gracie to see how she was feeling. I laid the back of my hand on her little forehead and could feel that she was running a slight fever, but it wasn't bad.

"How's she been guys?" I asked them as I leaned over to kiss her on the head.

"She's good now, Baby. I gave her some of that Tylenol that you keep for her, and once her fever came down, she insisted that we have a tea party." Edward told me as the guys nodded to me.

"Thanks so much for taking care of her for me you guys. I really appreciate it!" I told them as I felt tears start to well up in my eyes. I can't help that I become emotional when my baby is sick. Then when they stepped up and took care of her so well, it just made me really appreciative of them.

"It was no problem Bells. You know how much we love our Gracie Girl!" Em told me as he stood up to come give me a hug. I hugged him back tightly in thanks before I went over to Jazz and hugged him too. I whispered my thanks to him also and he just told me not to worry about it. That she was important to them too.

"Gracie, do you want to go home now baby?" I asked her as I went back over to kneel beside her.

"No, Mommy! We're having a tea party! Uncle Jazz and Uncle Em and Daddy are my guests. I can't leave them!" she told me as she pouted out her bottom lip. I was done in when she broke out her puppy dog eyes on top of it.

"Damn you Edward for teaching her how to get her way with those eyes!" I thought to him as I playfully glared over at him.

"Baby, I can't help it if she's a natural! She learned it from the best. . . What can I say?" He thought back with a smirk.

I huffed in pretend anger at him before I gave in and went around to sit in his lap. We finished our tea party and I finally talked Gracie into willingly leaving the guys and the shop. I went into the office with Edward so that I could give him a proper goodbye and I told him that I wanted to talk to him tonight when he got home.

"What is it Bella? Is something wrong? Did I do wrong with Gracie?" he asked me with a worried look on his handsome face.

"No . . . No Baby, You did great with Gracie. I just need to ask you something, but right now isn't the right time." I told him before quickly pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Ok, then. I hope it's nothing bad. . ." he trailed off, trying to get me to give him a hint.

"No, nothing bad. Well, at least I don't think so anyway. I'll see you tonight OK?" I asked him before pulling myself from his arms.

"As long as you think it's good, then I'm OK. I am looking forward to what ever it is though. Now I'm curious!" he told me with a laugh before leading me back to the front of the shop.

Gracie and I made our rounds, giving everyone hugs and kisses before I packed her and Delilah into the truck to head on home. When we got there, I had Gracie lay on the couch and watch her cartoons while I fixed a quick supper for us. After we ate I gave her a bath and gave her some more Tylenol as her fever was trying to come back again. She seemed to be fine other that the fever, so I wasn't too worried.

I took her to bed and read her a couple of books before she finally went to sleep. After I eased out of the bed, I just stood there looking at her to make sure that she was really settled before I went to the deck to smoke a cigarette. I was only out there for a few minutes before I had to come back inside to grab a jacket. It was really starting to get chilly at night now. Once I had finished my smoke, I went back in and settled on the couch with my laptop and the TV turned on. The TV was more for the background noise than for me to actually watch. I read some stories online and just piddled around on the internet while I waited for Edward to get home.

I was kinda nervous, but excited all at the same time. I had finally decided to ask Edward to move in with us permanently. I know that he had been staying here for a while now, but I'd just realized today that we had never really talked about him staying on a permanent basis. I felt my heart clench in my chest when I thought about him going back home. It just hurt to much to even think about it. I had kept my thoughts shielded so that he wouldn't know what I was thinking. I wanted to see his honest reaction to me asking him to move in permanently in person.

Finally, around 9:30 I heard his car in the drive. Seems he had gotten impatient and came home early tonight. I couldn't help but grin in happiness about that. I missed him when he wasn't here!

"Baby, I'm home," he whisper yelled as he came into the living room.

"I'm in here Baby. On the couch," I told him quietly.

Edward came over to where I was sitting and pulled me into his lap before nuzzling at my ear. "So, what is it you want to talk to me about. I've been dying of curiosity all evening!" he playfully growled into my ear.

I moved to sit up a little better on his lap before I turned to look deep into his emerald gaze. I suddenly got a case of the nerves and bit my lip while I could feel my hands start to shake a little.

Edward could tell that I was a little upset and grabbed my hands in his and brought them up to his lips to place gentle kisses on them.

"Baby, whatever it is, we'll work through it. It's OK. I love you, and no matter what it is we'll be OK!" he told me forcefully.

I felt my heart clench as I realized that I had unintentionally given him the impression that something was wrong in a bad way.

"Edward, no baby. Nothing is wrong. I just realized something today and I wanted to ask you about it, but then my nerves kicked in and . . . " I trailed off as he covered my mouth with his own to silence me.

"Just tell me Bella. I can't hear your thoughts about what ever it is. That's just messed up. How can you keep me out like that!?" he asked me, upset a little that I had blocked him.

So, I took a very deep breath and let the thoughts flow from me to him. When he realized what I was asking him his mouth dropped open and then he broke out into a huge smile. Grabbing me around the waist he pressed kisses all over my face in relief.

"Baby, I NEVER want to leave you. It never really crossed my mind that we hadn't discussed it. It just felt so right to be here with you and Gracie, to tell you the truth. But, yeah. I would love to officially move in here with you guys. Em and Jazz have actually hinted around about finding them a place to live because I think they are still feeling bad about staying at my house. Now they won't have to worry. It will be nice to get most of my stuff here. I've hated having to go by the house to work out and stuff. Can we fix my gym in the extra bedroom here? Or if not, maybe in the barn somewhere?" he rambled on.

It was my turn to stop his rambling with a kiss before I told him that we could put his gym stuff in the extra bedroom if he wanted or where ever he wanted it to be. He got very excited and wanted to start moving his stuff in right this minute but I convinced him to wait for morning.

We finally decided to go to bed since it was getting late and as we lay there wrapped up in each other, I knew I was where I would always belong!


End file.
